Puppet Master Naruto
by WingardiumRasengan
Summary: Naruto is trained at a young ag to be a puppeteer, how does his actions change people and the nearby future
1. Chapter 1

Author note:

Author note:

This is a reposting of a deleted story by oblong formerly known as Fettucinialso formerly know as Serpentsannin

**Author Note**

This is my first fanfiction that I'm posting up; I figured it was about time and I kind of liked the way this story was going. I accept all praises and criticisms, even insults, because I just don't care. As I'm posting the story, I'm six chapters in already, so I'll wait for reviews before continuing to see what the readers (if they're any) think before continuing.

Pairings for Naruto are not set yet but let it be known that I do not enjoy reading Yaoi fanfiction (not that I have a problem with homosexuals, it's just that Naruto isn't gay), he will also not be paired with Sakura (who I rather dislike), Hinata (it will become obvious why anyway) or Temari (she had another pairing) in this story.

Naruto's personality will also be much different, mainly because he will grow up differently, but also because I hate how the anime/manga portrays him as loud, idiotic, brash and annoying. One would think that growing up like he has he would have a more 'somber' personality. His personality is probably a mix between Neji and Itachi, leaning more towards Itachi without his 'evilness'.

Naruto will be powerful, very much so. He will not go all 'Kyuubi' and use the demonic chakra during battles, opting to be smart and outwit his opponents. Also, he will not be able to 'solo' Akatsuki, that's just stupid.

Finally, any theory I have written down is me using Wikipedia for Naruto information or applying logic to some degree to make things seem reasonable and believable.

Enjoy

Chapter 1: Uzumaki Naruto

October the tenth, a day in the ninja village Konohagakure no Sato where the villagers celebrate a great victory and mourn the loss of their greatest hero and leader, for six years ago, the Yondaime Hokage Namikaze Minato defeated one of the nine great demon lords, the Kyuubi no Kitsune, who was destroying their village.

The battle lasted for weeks from when the giant fire colored fox with nine tails intruded on Konoha's territory to until when he was stopped on the very outskirts of the village. In stalling the demon though, many hundred of good shinobi lost their lives – families were broken, children were orphaned, homes were destroyed, it was a time of both extreme tragedy and celebration for in the defeat of the unstoppable force that was the nine tailed demon lord and strongest of the tailed beasts; Kyuubi.

This day was also the day in which a great tragedy had befallen on a certain infant, an infant who wasn't even aware of what was going on around him. An infant who the Yondaime used to defeat the demon lord once and for all, and it was because of this that the Yondaime forfeit any possible chance for the child to have a future in the village.

One may ask why this was the case. Any person, especially an infant that aided in the defeat of Konoha's greatest foe would surely be heralded as a hero, wouldn't they? Sadly, things were not meant to be. For the truth of the matter is that no human or mortal for that matter could possibly kill the Kyuubi no Kitsune outright with any skill they could possess, they simply lacked the power and the means to destroy an immortal body. So, how could the Yondaime, greatest shinobi to have been produced in Konoha have killed the Kyuubi? He didn't, not in the literal terms anyway.

The Yondaime, prior to his victory, spent an entire week trying to discover a way to slay the beast, but when he realized that there was no way to do so, he turned to his field of expertise – Fuuinjutsu or Seals.

It is common knowledge that seals are used to contain and hold thing mainly, and it was with that idea the Yondaime invented a most fearsome technique that would put an end to the Kyuubi's reign of terror.

The technique, Shiki Fujin, was designed to call upon the services of Shinigami itself, the death god, to use its powers to tear the soul of the target and user from their bodies. The target's soul can be placed into any seal requested while the user's soul is devoured into the stomach of the death god as payment for its services where it will reside to do battle with its fellow souls for all eternity.

With the use of this technique, the Yondaime ripped the soul of the Kyuubi from its body, destroying him physically and sealed it into the only thing that could possibly contain such a monstrous spirit. Something so pure and innocent that it would be immune to the corruption the soul of a demon could bring, so long as said demon could not influence its host in any way. The Yondaime sealed the soul of the Kyuubi no Kitsune into an orphan whose mother died after giving birth and father died in battle with the enraged Kitsune, the infant's name was Uzumaki Naruto, the human sacrifice used to destroy the Kyuubi and save Konoha from definite annihilation.

Before using the child as a sacrifice, the Yondaime had one last request; for Uzumaki Naruto to be seen as a hero, the very thing that stops the village from being destroyed, the very person whose mere existence is a reminder of why they are still walking, talking, loving, caring, and basically living now. Naruto's body was used as the prison for the most notorious prisoner Konoha had ever seen, and he was the warden.

There is a famous saying that says that 'Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not so sure about the universe' and sadly, that statement couldn't be more accurate to describe Konoha's general reaction to the sealing of Kyuubi inside Naruto.

Instead of valuing their beloved leader's knowledge in seals, skill and final wish, they instead transferred their hate of the demon to the next 'logical' choice, the boy who contained it. Instead of seeing him as hero, who sacrificed his very own body to keep them alive, they saw him as the demon reincarnated who would wait until they are unprepared to pounds and finish the job it started on that fateful night all those years ago.

It was so bad that immediately after it was leaked out to the public about Naruto's condition, the nurse who was caring for the newly orphaned child attempted to kill it to 'finish the Yondaime's work' by strangulation. Luckily for Naruto, the Sandaime Hokage, who was newly reinstated as the leader of the village after his predecessor's death, arrived on the scene and arrested the nurse – only to cause more civil uprising for arresting an innocent civilian who only tried to kill the 'demon'.

It got to the point that Sarutobi, the aged Hokage, had to pass a law before the council that forbade mentioning the Kyuubi being sealed in Naruto on the punishment of death. This was in hopes that the villagers would leave the poor boy alone so that he could at least make friends in his own generation.

That too, was not to be. In his early years, Uzumaki Naruto lived in an orphanage where the caretakers would allow for the other children to beat on him, even indulging in on the activity themselves when they were sure the Sandaime would not notice. Parents would admonish their children for trying to include the 'monster' in their games to the point where the children began to hate him too for getting them into trouble with their parents. In fact, in the whole village, it seemed that the only person who truly cared for the abused child was the Sandaime Hokage, though others chose ignorance as a better way to deal with the problem, even if they don't think ill of him.

Eventually, on his fourth birthday, Naruto was kicked out of the orphanage when the caretakers believed he was more trouble then he was worth. He had spent months on the streets scrounging from trash cans to survive until Sandaime found him and purchased him an apartment while giving him an allowance so that he wouldn't die on the street – a small mercy for the boy Kami himself forgot about.

Naruto grew up with the hate of his home while at the same time, not knowing what he had done to earn such hate. Such a life caused him naturally become reserved, mistrustful, intelligent and cunning. One can not live like he did and survive without having these traits.

Things began to look up for Naruto though when with his allowance, he found a shop whose owner treated him like a person and sold him food. Ichiraku ramen, owned by Teuchi Ichiraku and his daughter Ayame Ichiraku offered Naruto a safe haven to eat with the money he was given by Sandaime, if for nothing else then to feel loved and cared for.

It was on his sixth birthday though when Naruto's life would turn upside down. He had gotten used to hiding on October the tenth, his birthday, for the villagers seemed to be extra angry with him on that day; where the beating he received would be at their worst. However, as he hid under his bed in the old, broken down apartment which had graffiti sprayed all over the walls with vulgar language and insults toward him, broken windows and appliances, dirty and unsanitary water and spoilt food in his fridge, his apartment door was broken down by a group of drunk villagers; drunk from the celebration of the festival held annually to honor the dead and celebrate the Kyuubi's defeat. In a large group, Naruto heard them break down his door and enter his apartment. It didn't take long for them to overturn his bed and find him hiding, where they then proceeded to beat him, breaking several bones in his young body, stab him with broken bottles, tie him up and drag him around the village while the other villagers cheered and egged them on. This all ended when they got to the outskirts of the village and tied him up on a tree branch and proceeded to use him as a human piñata for a few hours before leaving him for dead.

How could it be that all this atrocious behavior could be allowed to happen right under the nose of the very Hokage who seemed to care for his well being? That was simple, at the very same time, a delegate from the hidden village in the clouds, Kumogakure no Sato, attempted to kidnap the Hyuuga heiress which required the attention of all the elite shinobi of Konoha, taking the attention away from Naruto for long enough for him to be beat to death.

But no, death would not come to Naruto, for even though having the great demon sealed within him was a great curse, he was also blessed with gifts such as an abnormally large chakra supply, increased stamina, a perfectly fit body even though he should technically have died through malnutrition, and enhanced healing. For the Kyuubi's spirit was tied with Naruto's own and the prideful demon would not have his container dying at the hands of mere civilians, not this day.

It was this sight that the legendary Akasuna no Sasori. Missing-nin of Sunagakure no Sato and legendary puppeteer found Uzumaki Naruto while he was attempting to infiltrate Konoha and get one of his spies to steal the forbidden scroll of seals from the Hokage's library.

"What the hell is this?" asked a confused and horrified Sasori. As his large crouched body covered by a black cloak with red clouds adorned on it approached the seemingly dead boy being hung upside down from a tree branch with enough injuries to suggest he was tortured. Underneath the branch he was hung from, there was a massive pool of blood gathered, most likely from his wounds, what was confusing and unsettling though was the amount of blood there was though. Someone of his stature knows a lot of the human anatomy and one thing he knew was that there was no way there could be that much blood within this small body. He approached it more closely to examine the boy, poking him a few times to realize he was still warm and had a pulse when he gasped upon realization of who it was.

'_This is the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki?' _he asked himself as he traced the three whisker marks on each cheek with his hand _'these pathetic village of monsters can justify treat a child like this? And I'm a wanted criminal for turning a tyrant of a Kazekage into a puppet…'_

Thanking Kami that it was physically impossible for him to vomit at the gruesome sight, a large metal tail rose from within his robes and shot out at the rope keeping the boy suspended; severing it, as he dropped into Sasori's waiting arms.

'_He is a sitting duck out here'_ thought Sasori _'Leader-sama will have found him eventually without trouble and then these leaf fools would have caused their very own end again. I need to hide him where he'll be safe…'_

Using what very little medical techniques he knew to at least seal his wounds so he would stop bleeding and leave a trail, he then cleaned him of all the dried blood on his body and wrapped him up in his cloak before leaving Konoha with Naruto, forgetting about his original goal for coming to Konoha.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Akasuna no Sasori

Naruto let out a groan when he regained consciousness. The last thing he could remember was being tied up and hung from a tree, by all mean, he should be dead. Instead, he found himself lying face up on a hard surface with a small source of warmth coming from somewhere to his right. Looking straight up and opening his dull cerulean eyes, he saw what looked to be the roof of a cave, a dark cave. Sitting up, he saw that he was indeed in a large cave sitting by a fire while lying down on a pile of large leaves and torn out grass fashioned into an uncomfortable bed. The cave had numerous stalagmites and stalactites on the edges of the cave leaving the middle wide open where there was some sort of workbench against the wall with numerous medical looking tools and drills along with several scrolls strewn about carelessly on the desk. Suddenly, a shadow was cast over the cave and whipping his head around, he saw a strange...thing. It was hunched over, seemingly in a crouch with a black bandana covering his face. Its white eyes seemingly looking at him silently while the rest of its large body was covered by a black cloak with red clouds.

"You're awake" he commented in a disemboweled voice, sounding deep and rusty yet with no malice or no other emotion either.

Naruto just nodded, looking at the weird looking man warily who just nodded and shuffled over to the fire before placing down a dead boar - probably for them to eat.

"What's your name?" asked the man, taking off his cloak to reveal the most bizarre body Naruto had ever seen. On his back there was an orange mask like shell with a large metal scorpion like tail protruding from the mouth while his left arm had some sort of gauntlet on it, covering the seemingly wooden appendage. After he removed his straw hat, he revealed braided hair that really made him look bizarre and creepy; it was what he did next that nearly made the young and impressionable boy faint. A hissing sound came from his chest area as a small latch opened to reveal a door as a boy of no older then 15 or 16 stepped out. This boy seemed to be less weird, having good looking pale features and messy red hair; he also had a black cloak with red clouds on it.

"Well?" he asked again in a much more regular voice, losing that robotic edge it previously held.

"Uzumaki Naruto" he answered, without much emotion in his voice either, before he pulled his legs up to his chest and hugged his knees, huddling by the fire.

The red haired boy seemed to take this in stride and proceeded to the fire so he could cook the boar he caught. The smell it gave off as it cooked made Naruto's stomach grumble, showing his hunger, though neither said anything about it.

"W-who are you?" asked Naruto, with a slight waver in his voice letting Sasori know that he was still upset of what must have happened before he ended up in the condition he was in when he found him.

"I am known as Akasuna no Sasori, I am a ninja" he answered satisfying Naruto's curiosity for the moment.

"What did you just do before...with your body?" asked Naruto, after a few more moments of silence.

Sasori seemed to ponder whether he was going to answer or not before doing so "As a shinobi, I am a puppeteer, I use my techniques to control puppets to fight my enemies - that over there" he said, pointing to the body he seemingly shed "is Hiruko, one of my puppets that I control from the inside that allows me to protect myself from attacks while being able to attack at the same time" answered Sasori honestly, not thinking the boy would understand anyway.

Sasori was shocked to say the least when Naruto spoke up anyway; giving his own thoughts "You use chakra to control your puppets and the tail then? That way you can control your puppets without worrying about getting attacked yourself while doing so right?"

Sasori was shocked, though you wouldn't be able to tell from his stoic facial features. This boy was what? Fife? Six? And he easily understood the reasoning for Hiruko after just one small explanation?

"Correct"

Naruto, still hugging his knees though now looking at the discarded Hiruko spoke up again "No one in Konoha uses puppets as a shinobi technique...it would save chakra one would normally waste for ninjutsu to use to enhance your own limbs and chakra strings instead...I don't see why there are not more puppeteers..."

If the situation wasn't so sad, Sasori would have burst out laughing. Trust a child to see the advantages and wonders of using puppets so easily.

"You are interested in the shinobi arts?" asked Sasori, with a curious tone.

"I read...a lot, it's all I was allowed to do..." answered Naruto, Sasori didn't interrupt, wanting to hear the whole story "I spent a lot of time in the library, though I wasn't allowed to take any of the books... I like reading the stories about Shodaime-sama, Nidaime-sama, Sandaime-sama, Yondaime-sama and other ninja villages...it was interesting..."

"Do you know who I am?" asked Sasori, genuinely curious, and his curiosity was peeked even more when Naruto nodded.

"You're an S-class missing-nin from Sunagakure no Sato, wanted for stealing several top secret jutsu scrolls and fleeing Sunagakure over a decade ago..."

Silence lapsed between the two that lasted for at least 10 minutes as Sasori served the boar to the now starving Naruto and a cup of water from a bucket near the entrance of the cave which was collecting clean drinking water.

"You're not scared?" asked Sasori, while they ate their meals to which Naruto just snorted in amusement.

"Of what? You could beat me, try to kill me, spit on me and you would probably still be kinder then the villagers back in Konoha...no, I'm not scared; I got over being scared a long time ago" answered Naruto truthfully, sounding much older then he really was.

Sasori nodded and continued to watch Naruto eat not eating anything himself. When Naruto had his fill, Sasori took out a scroll, painted some kanji on it with a seal brush before applying chakra to the scroll which then enveloped the leftover food in a blue light and made it vanish.

"Why?" spoke up Naruto suddenly and Sasori understood immediately what he was talking about even though he used one word to voice his thoughts.

"I work for an organization called Akatsuki, a group of S-rank missing-nin whose goals are to collect the nine great demon lords for the sole purpose to use them to monopolize the shinobi world and remove the need for hidden villages.

Had I not taken you, someone from my organization not like me would have found you and killed you to take the demon you hold prisoner for their own uses."

Seeing the shock on Naruto's face then resignation Sasori continued "From your reaction, it's to my understanding that you did not know you housed the demon inside you. The story your village teaches its new shinobi is a lie - the Yondaime did defeat the Kyuubi, but he did so by sealing his soul into an infant's body, yours."

Impressed that the child hadn't broken down crying by now, he was about to continue when Naruto snorted "I guess its better then thinking I was hated for no reason, they hate me because I'm the Kyuubi..."

Sasori showed his first sign of emotion by sneering "Don't be stupid boy - the Kyuubi no Kitsune was a demon of infinite power, one no mortal could kill. You are not the Kyuubi no Kitsune, but merely its jailor. Just like a scroll that has a sealed kunai in it is not a kunai, but a scroll. There is a name for someone like you, it is a Jinchuuriki, power of the human sacrifice...fitting if the condition I found you in two nights ago was anything to go by..."

Naruto sat in silence, digesting all the new information he was given by Sasori while staring into the cackling fire with emotionless eyes. It was a relief to know that at least he was hated for a reason out of his control - he had assumed that he had done something unimaginable that he could not remember, to know that they were the ones mistaken and not he comforted him somewhat.

"I guess you're going to hand me into your superiors to get the Kyuubi then, how long do I have?" asked Naruto, with no fear at all, simply resignation.

"I never said I would do that" Sasori said, while he too stared into the fire "I merely joined Akatsuki for its protection, I do not share their goals for the Shinobi world. However, I also don't care for hidden villages and how they tie down their shinobi either - I will not be responsible for the death of an innocent child such as yourself though, so you will remain here where you are safe for now" answered Sasori, shocking Naruto somewhat.

"Where is here?" asked Naruto finally, after several moments of shocked silence.

"This cave is where I work on my puppets and other creations, we are near the border of Wind country hidden by a powerful Genjutsu at the entrance of the cave" he answered.

"What am I supposed to do? I doubt you'll be here the whole time if you work for an organization..."

Sasori nodded "What do you want to do? Aside from visiting the surrounding villages, that is, doing so as you are now is a surefire way for you to get caught and sent back to that pitiful village"

Naruto asked himself that question now. What did he want to do? It's obvious that if he went back to Konoha by force or by will, he would most likely be lynched again by the villagers. If he went to any other village, now knowing that he had the Kyuubi in him, it probably wouldn't take long for them to realize it too and use him for it, so any hidden village is out of the question. That didn't stop him from wanting to become a shinobi though. He had no reason to become one though other then to protect himself, that wasn't great motivation to become strong and progress for the sake of progress would just make him bored quickly. He then had images of the Sandaime Hokage and the Ichiraku Ramen family flash through his mind before he smirked slightly.

"I want to be a shinobi..." answered Naruto which made Sasori raise an eyebrow in amusement.

"Then let Konoha capture you again, they'll let you become one eventually..." he answered, wanting to goad a reaction out of him which he did. Naruto's cold eyes met his own shining with fierce determination.

"I don't want to go back to Konoha or any other hidden village either...they'll just use me...I still want to be strong though..."

Sasori picked up a stick and poked the fire while thinking about this last predicament. Though he wasn't terribly fond of the boy or anything, it would give him some way to pass the time when he wasn't doing missions with Akatsuki, not to mention that if he decided to train Naruto personally, he could make sure he was strong enough to resist them when they finally discover his identity and try to abduct him. He was not crazy, nor warmongering, he just hated being tied down by the 

rules and laws of a hidden village, preferring the life of a missing-nin. Should Akatsuki get a hold of this boy though, and the rest of the tailed demons, war would be the only possible outcome and though he was not particularly adverse to the idea, it would also escalate to the level where innocents would die, and he couldn't have that.

"I will leave often, for days, weeks, maybe even months, but if I chose to train you, will you listen to my every order in regards to it or will you be an insolent child whining about not wanting to work for strength?" questioned Sasori "My training will not be easy, in fact, it will be grueling and taxing on you at the best of times, but to learn what I have to teach you, you will need precise control of your chakra, excellent stamina, high speed and high intelligence, all of which will require a lot of work on your behalf, are you prepared?"

Naruto smiled a small smile for the first time since Sasori took him from Konoha which made him smirk back.

"Hai...Sasori-sensei" answered Naruto which made Sasori look up to the ceiling with a fare away look.

'_Sasori-sensei? I like the sound of that...'_

Author's Note:

The pairing for Naruto is Mitarashi Anko - which will not happen for a while. As you can see, Sasori is OOC, as is Naruto. He may seem overly intelligent, but I don't much care, I like him this way. I'm not 100 percent sure what I'm going to do with the story line and I'm kind of playing with it as I go, so, if you have any ideas that don't revolve around Naruto returning to leaf or any other hidden village, or him turning evil, I'm all ears.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Training

The Sandaime Hokage of Konoha, known by most as 'Sarutobi-sama' or 'old man' by his son and grandson sighed as he looked over his paperwork. Being Hokage may seem like a glorious and illustrious thing to be - why wouldn't it? To be revered across the shinobi nations as the strongest Kage of them all and have the love and respect of your village, what's wrong with that?

It was days like today that made him question himself as he wondered if everything he did was worth it. His job was to be the shield of Konoha, protecting its inhabitants so they could live happily and peacefully and he failed miserably, no, 'miserable' didn't even come close to how bad he screwed up in regards to a certain blonde haired blue eyes Jinchuuriki.

When he heard the reports that Hyuuga Hinata had been kidnapped by the delegate of cloud during the Kyuubi festival, he had dedicated the entirety of the ANBU force, the special group of shinobi that answer only to the Hokage and do the most important jobs, to search and retrieve. It seemed that such an action was completely unnecessary as the Hyuuga head, Hyuuga Hiashi intercepted the kidnapper before he could leave the village and dealt with him swiftly - which would have its own repercussions in its own, but it was his naivety and close mindedness that led to the death of Uzumaki Naruto.

When he was discovered missing by complete accident when Teuchi Ichiraku had informed him that Naruto had not come to his store in three whole days, which was a matter of concern since it was the only place in the village he could get food without being poisoned, he had organized a full scale search only to find a puddle of his dried up blood on the outskirts of the village with a cut rope. The sight had immediately made him sick to his stomach...there was so much blood and a trail of said blood leading into the forest. Animals must have taken him away after he was beaten...by the villagers no doubt and finished the job.

There was, of course, a full scale investigation as to who was responsible for such a dreadful act, but when the reports came back, it was so many people that he couldn't possibly punish them all without having a civil war on his hands by doing so, so the murderers of said child were set free, with absolutely no punishment - not that majority of the council cared. Ignorant fools.

The reports officially said that he is dead, body most likely devoured by animals, but Sarutobi knew better. He wasn't Hokage for nothing after all. He had seen the Kyuubi's effect on Naruto in terms of its healing powers on its container, he knew that next to decapitation or the destroying of a vital organ, there wasn't many injuries that would kill the boy, blood loss being one of them.

He knew for a fact that Uzumaki Naruto was still out there somewhere, perhaps it was for the best. All he could hope for is that he not return stronger seeking vengeance, because with the power he could wield at his disposal, he could very easily do that, and he was very tempted to let him do so.

Naruto's first week of training had been difficult to say the least, but he never complained once - Sasori-sensei wouldn't appreciate that. He had told Naruto from the beginning that it would be difficult and he would want to hear no complains, and Naruto had been the one who requested it in the first place, who was he to complain?

Sasori had told him from the beginning that he was training Naruto to be stronger then him, for his organization would eventually come after him and to be able to defend himself, he would need to be stronger than Sasori, for he himself was not the strongest member of the organization.

Sasori had disappeared on the first night before Naruto went to bed only to be back by morning with the supplies he would need to begin his training. He was to at first increase his speed, stamina, chakra reserves and most importantly chakra control.

The control aspect was most important because Sasori-sensei told him that due to the seal placed on Naruto's stomach, it is constantly converting Kyuubi's chakra into his own, giving him 

abnormally large reserves for someone his age, and if large reserves weren't hard enough to control, the type of chakra that is being flooded into his system is causing an imbalance.

Chakra was split up into two components, physical and spiritual. Seeing as the Kyuubi was a massive spirit sealed within his body, its power is also spiritual and though adding to his reserves, it only adds to his spiritual chakra reserves, leaving less of the physical component, thus causing an imbalance and thus making his control horrible when he tried to exercise his control by focusing it to his feet and trying to stick to a tree.

To remedy this, Sasori had told him that he would have to fix the balance, but it would take hard work, when he completed the incredibly hard task of fixing the balance though he would be all the stronger for it. Apparently, there were only two ways to do this in Sasori's opinion, one was to seal off Kyuubi's chakra for good, so that the physical component of his chakra could catch up, or the more viable option, to train hard physically by doing physical exercises not involving chakra to increase their supplies quicker then the spiritual component of his chakra was increasing. This would require him to do intensive physical workouts until the balance was there, which he could then combine the two components in his training and increase them evenly. The end result would be Naruto having massive reserves and perfect control of them, a deadly combination of any powerful shinobi and something Sasori told Naruto he would need if he wanted to learn what he had to teach him.

To begin his training, Sasori had given him a workout regimen that was designed to increase his physical stamina which involved lots of running, minor physical exercises and swimming for several hours each day.

Being that he needed speed too, Sasori-sensei told him that he could not pack on too much muscle else he becomes bulky and slow instead of strong, fast and agile. To remedy this, Sasori-sensei had him only do exercises that increased his stamina as once he attained good enough control, he could use his chakra to augment his speed and strength.

It had taken him a full week to get used to the harsh training exercises which usually consisted of laps around a specific circuit near the cave, sit ups, push ups, crunches, squats and all other forms of physical exercise before he went on to shuriken and kunai throwing followed by learning things that Sasori-sensei deemed beneficial to all shinobi like mathematics, strategy, history, economics and meditation. The latter more so he could focus and relax more often to keep his emotions bottled up when around his enemy, 'show your enemy the slightest weakness and they will exploit if they are good shinobi' he had told Naruto on many occasions, to drill it into his head.

Over the next two years, Sasori continued to train Naruto in his chakra control and building his stamina to the point where his control was at a level high enough to begin the next phase of his training. As his reserved naturally grew, he had also began to teach him some Ninjutsu that he had pilfered from various villages that would compliment his abilities, such as the 'Shunshin' technique, various clone techniques, and the basic academy level techniques like the Henge and Kawarimi, which he mastered quickly and efficiently.

Sasori had also begun to teach him about poisons and the human anatomy, so he could utilize his knowledge about poisons, and where to strike his opponents to cause the most damage.

The blonde was so naturally talented in the field; he created his own technique, to Sasori's shock, that was incredibly ingenious. The technique was called 'Doku Bunshin', which, like the Kage Bunshin that creates a solid clone of the user with the use of the user's chakra, creates a clone of the creator, but unlike others, upon destruction, it lets loose a cloud of poison that will likely be ingested by the attacker. To create it, he had combined the principals of the Kage Bunshin and Bunshin Daibakuha techniques only instead of an explosion when the clone was destroyed; he used chakra to create poison.

"Naruto, stop training and come here, we have much to discuss" spoke Sasori to Naruto, who was currently doing his daily exercises. He may have grown fond of the boy, who was a pleasure to teach, but he would not baby the boy or grow soft, it would not help either of them.

"Yes Sasori-sensei?" asked Naruto with a calm if not curious look on his face. He had been a bit excitable at the beginning of their training but Sasori immediately beat that out of him, it was unbecoming of a shinobi to act like a child of all things.

"You have progressed a lot quicker in your training then I had expected, thus, we will move on to the next phase that I believe you will enjoy as a result" he began, cold and emotionless as always. Seeing Naruto nod, he continued.

"What can you tell me of shinobi techniques?" inquired Sasori, allowing Naruto to figure out what they would be training in next by leading the answer to him with a line of questions.

"Well, there are many types of Shinobi techniques which can either use one's physical stamina or chakra to perform, such examples are Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Genjutsu, Kenjutsu, Fuuinjutsu and so on. One either learns stances and trains to master Taijutsu and Kenjutsu, but normally, in regards to techniques, one would mold chakra in the way they desire to have the desired effect of the technique they try to use" Naruto answered, as best as he could remember earning a nod from Sasori.

"Basing your next answer on your training so far, what do you think I would like you to train in next?" asked Sasori, goading him for an answer.

"You have tried hard to make sure that my control is as perfect as possible first and foremost" Naruto answered before pausing "You have also tried to sharpen my mind and increase my intellectual power, so I would guess that you want me to learn Genjutsu?"

With a nod, Sasori decided to explain his decision "Genjutsus are extremely complicated ninjutsu that use that focus on using the chakra in your opponent's nervous system to manipulate their senses to your liking; allowing you to create phantasms that can cause your opponent to hear, see, taste, smell and/or feel whatever you like. It is extremely difficult and deadly, but once mastered, you can defeat your opponents without using as much chakra as a regular ninjutsu technique would" he explained to the amazed Naruto.

Naruto then had a frown on his face before answering "Couldn't someone who is extremely skilled just disable the Genjutsu and make it useless?" asked Naruto and Sasori nodded, conceding the point.

"Indeed, but the main factor there is that will only happen if your opponent is more skilled than you, which we are trying to make sure will not happen; Genjutsu is about subtlety more then power" he began "you can also layer your Genjutsu so that you can make it more difficult for them to break, or detect at all. Even though one can disrupt a Genjutsu by using the release technique or flaring their chakra, they must know they're in a Genjutsu first, or have the sufficient skill to break out of it - do you understand its uses?"

With a grin, Naruto nodded "How will I learn this sensei?" asked Naruto, showing an excitement that Sasori only saw on the boy whenever he would teach him something new. That was why it was so easy to teach the boy, he would soak up everything he would teach him like a sponge, but, he would also enjoy it.

"Teaching Genjutsu isn't like teaching Ninjutsu, I do not show you a technique and you use it, what the Genjutsu masters do is create their own techniques and manipulate the chakra in their opponents so flawlessly, they can literally manipulate their opponents at will. I will allow you to practice this on me for a few hours every day I am here, the other times I am not, you will train mentally so you can have the focus to perform the techniques" he answered, smirking at Naruto's giddy expression. Most kids his age would usually act like this when they got a toy they wanted, or were taken to buy some ice-cream, but Naruto would only act like this when he got to learn something new.

"I should tell you" he began "that there is a certain individual in the organization I work for who is a master at using Genjutsu, mostly because of his bloodline limit" began Sasori, immediately getting Naruto's attention.

"His name is Uchiha Itachi and his Sharingan allows him to have such a masterful control over Genjutsu that he can sometimes perform them without the use of hand seals to mold chakra, it is one of the reasons why I am teaching you this, you will need this knowledge if you are to survive against him" explained Sasori.

"Why are you so certain that I will be fighting him in the future sensei?" asked a confused Naruto which was only answered by a pregnant pause by Sasori.

"Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigake Kisame have been assigned to gather intelligence on, locate and capture you or rather the Kyuubi no Kitsune inside of you" answered Sasori truthfully. To his surprise though, Naruto just got an extremely determined look in his eyes.

"I may not have the Sharingan, but I will find a way to be better then the Uchiha, you said so yourself that as long as I'm better, my Genjutsu will work right? Sharingan or not, if I am better, he will have a hard time dealing with them and I should be able to disable his, I will find a way to do so sensei" he spoke, with fierce determination, making Sasori smirk.

'_Oh Itachi-san, Kisame-san, you will hate me for all of eternity for this, but I can't bring myself to care'_ mused Sasori as he nodded and began to train Naruto in earnest now, for the first time going one on one as his previous training didn't require much contact between the two, only books and instructions.

To begin with, Sasori showed Naruto one of the low level Genjutsu techniques he knew and used it on him to aid. This would help him in a number of ways because firstly, he could feel how the chakra is being manipulated within himself, he can see it in effect and he can practice to break it. As Sasori guessed, Naruto was able to piece together the steps involved in casting a Genjutsu by himself after a week of this and successfully replicated the effect that was cast on himself, which was creating a phantasm for Sasori to see. Once Naruto got the feeling of how to manipulate the chakra to replicate those effects, he had to find a way to practice on someone to further his training. He couldn't use it on Sasori because the only sense Naruto could possibly use against Sasori was his sight and hearing, the rest was rendered useless due to his puppet body, so, to compensate, Sasori allowed Naruto to go into nearby villages under a henge and practice his Genjutsu skills on unsuspecting citizens and bandits.

Using this method of practice, Naruto was able to get the hang of using Genjutsu and their usefulness, however, try as he might, he could not do them without the use of hand seals. In an attempt to discover how chakra is molded easier, Sasori told him to first attempt the feat with ninjutsu by mere repetition, so, taking his advice, Naruto went back to training his ninjutsu again but would not move on to the next technique until he mastered his current one without the use of hand seals.

A year had passed like this and by his ninth birthday, Naruto was able to perform Henge, Kage Bunshin, Bunshin Daibakuha, Kawarimi, Shunshin and Doku Bunshin without the use of hand seals and Mizu Bunshin, Tsuchi Bunshin and a few lower level Genjutsus with just single handed hand seals. No matter how hard he tried though, he could not do any higher level Genjutsu without the use of hand seals, even when using the training method he discovered with Kage Bunshin that allowed him to gain experience much faster by letting his clones participate with training and then assimilating their knowledge when they were finished. Sasori had told him that it would take years of experience until he was at that level, but he never was one to like being told he could not do something.

A year of self study with scrolls and practice on non shinobi was all Naruto got when Sasori happened upon him training and interrupted him.

"You may not have mastered Genjutsu in the way that you had hoped, but you have done so to an extent in the given time fat better then I had thought you would. I set you an unrealistic goal that would give you a determination to better yourself" began Sasori, while looking at Naruto's pleased expression.

"I am by no means telling you to stop this, but, we will begin with the next thing I am willing to teach you" said the Puppeteer, getting Naruto excited at the prospect of getting stronger.

"What I will personally be teaching you now is how to use chakra strings as best as possible, and thus, by extent, how to be an effective puppeteer in combat" he explained with a smirk as Naruto let out a whoop of joy - the boy had expressed an interest in learning the art ever since he had shown him his own designs.

"One must begin small though, so you will first be learning how to create and control chakra strings on each finger and only then will we move to actual puppets" he explained as Naruto got into a seated position before Sasori, ready for teaching.

With Naruto's excellent chakra control, it didn't take long for him to be able to learn to use chakra strings. Sasori began by telling him how to create them, by expelling chakra from his finger tips and controlling them with his mind. He practiced this control by using chakra strings to levitate Kunai around his body, one at first but it then proceeded to ten at a time. Sasori had told Naruto that though he was getting better at it, he would need to be able to control his puppets and by extension chakra strings subconsciously so that if he were to get distracted during a fight, the strings will not disengage, leaving his puppets useless.

To do this, Sasori had Naruto dodging projectiles in all direction while using his chakra to both stand on a lake and control ten kunai with chakra strings. The kunai were also not to be hit by the projectiles, so he was forced to dodge with both his body and chakra strings, essentially, the exercise was designed to get Naruto to act as if the strings and whatever they are attached to are an extension of his own body.

The next part of the training involved Sasori bringing out four of his old created puppets for him and Naruto to spar with which Sasori always won. The point of that exercise was not winning though but rather learning strategy with puppets as well as combining them with Ninjutsu and stealth techniques.

After Sasori was satisfied that after a good year of training with them Naruto had a good enough understanding and skill with using puppets in combat, he went more into theory, or more specifically, more advanced puppets.

"Naruto, it is time I told you where the true power of puppetry lies, this also will reveal to you why I am an exile of my village" began Sasori after a grueling puppet spar which Naruto was able to last for two hours in.

"The famous technique that I use in puppetry is the Hitokugutsu, or Human Puppet. The technique is exactly as it sounds too, it is the art of using the corpse of a deceased Shinobi and turning them into a puppet that puppeteers like you can use. The process may seem, grotesque, at best, but as long as it is not misused, there is no problem" explained Sasori, skipping the theory on how to make Human puppets for now.

"I, unlike other missing-nin, did not leave my home village of Sunagakure no Sato because I was forced, or committed a crime; I left because I wanted to. However, before I did leave, I assassinated the tyrant of a Kazekage, the Sandaime, and took his body with me so I could create a human puppet out of him. The man was a menace and a danger to that village, so I doubt they really minded, all except for his more fanatical supporters anyway. He was a barbarian and a sick and twisted individual, allowing the more ruthless shinobi free reign on small villages to rape, pillage and murder innocents, even going so far as to indulge on such activities himself. When I realized this, I killed by slipping him an unrecognizable poisonous substance into his sake and taking him with me" he explained, satisfied to see how disgusted Naruto was by the revelation.

"A human puppet essentially, after it is created, retains the chakra, abilities and any bloodline limit they had in their life while still alive, but instead is controlled by the puppeteer" he said, seeing Naruto's eyes widen in shock.

"Indeed, I gather you see the potential of such a technique? The Sandaime Kazekage was famous for his ability to manipulate magnetic fields, and thus, his ultimate ability to control the iron sand - something that made him the most powerful Kage ever to grace Sunagakure - regardless of how much of a monster he was" he explained emotionlessly, pausing to see if Naruto had any questions.

"How do you make them and are they alive in any way shape or form after the puppet is created? Are they even aware at all?" he asked, slightly nervous.

"To answer your second question first" began Sasori "no, absolutely not, the moment the person is dead, they are that, simply dead. The puppet works though by implementing devices within the body that preserves and maintains the chakra circulatory system. So, once all the entrails are removed, and the puppet completed, they are simply that, a puppet that can use chakra at your bidding"

Seeing that Naruto still found it hard to understand, Sasori took out a scroll and summoned the puppet of the Sandaime Kazekage. Naruto looked on in awe at the floating human look alike and was even more awed when Sasori commanded his puppet to shoot bullets of iron sand into the wall, just like the original could have.

Naruto was grinning like mad before it turned into a frown as he thought of something "Sasori-sensei, what's the point of me learning the human puppet technique and how to create them when I don't have the corpse of a powerful shinobi to use?" asked a confused Naruto.

Sasori in response actually chuckled darkly before pulling out two scrolls and throwing them at Naruto "You know who my partner is in Akatsuki, correct?" asked Sasori, after throwing the confused Naruto the two scrolls.

"Hai, Orochimaru, the serpent sannin" answered Naruto immediately "S class nuke-nin from Konohagakure no Sato, banished for his experimentation on fellow Konoha citizens..." answered Naruto, not seeing where this was going.

"Indeed, well, it seemed our serpentine friend stole and used the corpses of two very powerful shinobi" he began, making sure he had Naruto's attention.

"The Shodaime and Nidaime Hokages were buried in Konoha with a preservation jutsu placed on their bodies so that while in their tomb, their bodies will never decay. When Orochimaru was banished, he replaced those corpses with fakes that had Henges placed on them and stole the originals. He did this so he could hopefully find a way to replicate their bloodline abilities, control over Mokuton techniques or masterful control over the Suiton techniques respectfully" he explained, as Naruto's eyes opened wide with shock when he realized where this was going as he changed the grip he had on the scrolls to something bordering reverence.

"He obviously failed, but he never returned the corpses - a spy of mine told me of this and I made him retrieve the corpses for me, I will teach you how to make a human puppet after we go through the adequate theory and we will make one with the Nidaime's body first, then you will do the Shodaime's on your own. Better that way as the Shodaime's bloodline ability would be more valuable in all honestly" explained the puppeteer, Naruto didn't even think twice.

Before Sasori even allowed Naruto to try the human puppets, he took the bodies back and informed Naruto that should he want to try his hand at making a human puppet, he had to create three of his own regular battle puppets before he would allow it and he only had a year and a half to do so. It may have sounded like a lot of time, but to Naruto, who was ordered to create three original puppets after seeing his sensei's humongous collection, this was a daunting task.

Over the next year and a half, Naruto continued his training in Genjutsu technique, stamina, speed and chakra control while he also drew the blueprints for and created his three original battle puppets Dokueki, Doriru and Tenshi. Dokueki was a nimble puppet with a thin wooden body covered by a tattered grey cloak, six arms and two legs. Like its name suggests, its main weapons revolve around poisoning the enemy. Each of its arms has a specially made kunai launcher that held a contraption that could shoot poison tipped kunai faster then most ninja could throw it. From the puppet's mouth, there was also a hidden contraption that could, on Naruto's command, release a highly dangerous poison that corrodes the insides of anyone who inhales it. Its most deadly weapon though was beneath the tattered cloak in its torso which was several dozen poisoned blades that upon command, launch out from within the torso through the provided holes and into an opponent; the idea was that Dokueki would latch onto an enemy and then Naruto would release 

the blades which shoot out from within quickly and withdraw, quicker then the eye could see but enough so that it could kill quite effectively.

The second puppet he created, Doriru was more of a support and defensive puppet with limited offensive capabilities, yet quite useful all the same. The puppet was much larger then Dokueki, with its limbs being thicker and stronger, while it had long arms, strong legs and a huge drill for a head. Also, on its back resided a large crimson kabuki mask which was designed to act as a shield, though it was quite scary looking which worked to put fear in his enemies. Its main attack revolved around getting an enemy within the almost impenetrable compartment in its chest and uses the drill to bury underground where it would be highly unlikely for an opponent to escape. It also had a Senbon launcher on its forearms, loaded with Senbon laced with paralysing poison, to aid in slowing the foe for easier capture. Unlike his other puppets, the torso of Doriru was made of a lightweight yet durable metal, as to easily conduct electricity, electricity that could be created from the contraption on the palms of Doriru's hands. Doriru could either punch its foes, sending electrical shockwaves into the enemy's body, or, it could pass electricity through its highly conductible body and roast the enemy within.

His favourite and most genius puppet however was Tenshi. The puppet had six angel like wings on the back that were designed to shoot poisoned Senbon from each 'feather', a high powered flamethrower on each arm, a grenade launcher in its torso and instead of legs, a large metallic and flexible tail that was also tipped with poison and quite strong so it could strike quickly at foes with it, defend, or bind. This puppet showed the most potential from attacking from the sky, letting loose grenades while remaining out of harms way, or, sending flames of death with its flamethrowers for arms. The Senbon launchers on each of the six wings can be controlled to shoot Senbon in six different directions, essentially, Tenshi was wonderful against multiple foes with an excellent array of attacks.

The materials to create the puppets were taken from Sasori's tool stash and anything he wanted yet didn't have was purchased by Sasori, he had no idea where he would get such obscure items as a large drill or kabuki mask though.

The end result had Sasori thrilled and the field test was even better where Naruto made his first kill by raiding a bandit camp while controlling all three puppets simultaneously. He was a little sloppy and weak with controlling all three at once, but Sasori said that would get better with experience.

Sasori had also made him mark his puppets like how he marked his own creations with his own mark, a red scorpion. Taking his sensei's advice to heart, he then marked all of his own puppets with his own sign, a crimson spiral, synonymous with his name.

Getting the approval of his sensei in regards to being a proper puppeteer, they began their work on the theory behind creating human puppets and it was quite grotesque yet fascinating at the same time. What it required was for Naruto to remove the entrails from the body and drain it of all its blood. Then, after peeling off the skin, numerous gadgets would be installed in the body to keep the chakra circulatory system running and retain the ex-shinobi's former powers.

Sasori had to walk him through step by step after he was sure Naruto wouldn't throw up at the sight. When Naruto asked how he could stomach such a task so easily, Sasori just chuckled darkly and told him that he no longer had a stomach or any other human body parts because he too was a human puppet, having converted himself into one.

With the help of Sasori, Naruto was able to successfully convert the Nidaime Hokage's corpse into a human puppet and almost immediately after that, he did the same with the Shodaime Hokage's corpse, though this time it was without the aid of Sasori. Naruto had made sure to dress both Hokage puppets accordingly to give their puppets the dignity they deserved with the Shodaime dressed in black shinobi pants and short sleeved top with maroon battle armour covering his upper body and thighs while Nidaime wore the exact same instead he had blue armour and a white fur neck piece - he had seen pictures of them wearing the exact same thing in battle.

He didn't dislike them, as a matter of fact; he greatly respected the two men however, without the proper preservations their bodies would have wasted away anyway. This way, he could use their 

bodies for good, which is something he was sure they would approve of, and if they didn't, well, he didn't much care; it was the least Konoha owed him after all the shit he'd been through.

Naruto had a great amount of fun learning to utilize the two brother Hokage's in battle and using their own bloodline techniques. It was amazing being able to control Mokuton abilities through a puppet with the Shodaime and use Suiton jutsus with the Nidaime puppet without a water source. Naruto remembered reading though that the Nidaime had a lightning chakra blade made for him to supplement his water jutsus that was stolen some time ago by some nuke-nin. He resolved to find the blade and give it to his puppet to wield in battle.

It was now three years since he began learning to use puppets and it was also Naruto's twelfth birthday. Since he began training, he had successfully gained excellent chakra control, increased his stamina immensely, his speed and evasion skills, learned several useful supplementary ninjutsu and creating one of his own, mastering Genjutsu techniques to the point where he could almost do them without hand seals, learned about different kinds of poisons, strategy, human anatomy, geology, economics, mathematics, literature, strategy and history, creating his own puppets, mastering the use of chakra strings with said puppets and created two human puppets from two of the most powerful shinobi in the history of the shinobi world. Sasori had told him that now was the time to start gaining experience against other shinobi; else he wouldn't be able to grow.

When Naruto asked if Sasori was sure he was ready for combat against other shinobi, the man just smirked telling Naruto that he already had the skills of a jounin and the only thing holding him back would be experience.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Orochimaru intervenes

Chapter 4: Orochimaru intervenes

Two figures stood in a clearing, one having shoulder length green hair and wearing an Amegakure forehead protector, a tight blue and grey sleeveless jumpsuit with a blazing yellow sword of electricity flaring in his right hand and an umbrella styled weapon on his back, his name was Rokusho Aoi, an A-rank missing-nin from Konoha, now a jounin for Amegakure no Sato after defecting there.

The other figure stood motionless wearing a high collared dark grey cloak black lining around the edges, which covered the lower part of his face from view while a straw hat covered the upper part of the shinobi's face from view, keeping his eyes shadowed, though it was obvious that the shinobi could see clearly even with his face obscured. From beneath the cloak, one could see two legs clad in black baggy pants and black shinobi sandals that held up his pants at the shin.

"Rokusho Aoi, you have something I want, the Raijin, sword of the Nidaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato – I suggest handing it over less you suffer a quick death" the cloaked figure stated emotionlessly, sending a shiver down Aoi's spine who then glared at the cloaked figure with a sneer on his face, the wind in the area blowing fiercely causing the trees and other shrubbery to sway in the wind.

"What makes you think I'll do that? Also, what makes you think you can beat me so easily, hm? By the sound of your voice, you're just a kid, probably trying to make a name of yourself by killing someone as notorious as me!" he yelled back over the wind "I'll show you why I'm a jounin and what the legendary Raijin can do!" he proclaimed while charging straight at the cloaked figure who stood motionless.

"Too scared to move? Your cloak and hat don't hide your fear boy!" Aoi yelled as he closed in for the kill.

That was as far as he got forever, it all happened so fast that Aoi didn't know what actually happened. The cloaked figure before him swerved out of the way of the first strike by leaning backwards out of reach from the cackling lightning blade, and then he did the most bizarre thing, the figure latched onto Aoi.

"This is no time for hugging me you queer…" Aoi didn't get to say much more though as he felt numerous blades quickly strike his body before being pulled out as the figure let go of Aoi, allowing him to stumble back in shock. Aoi looked down at his torso to see several small specks of blood appear through his jumpsuit, however, what surprised him the most though was when he looked up at his opponent, instead of the cloaked figure from before, he saw something that looked like a puppet with six limbs wearing a tattered cloak that had several punctures in it and an oddly shaped head. The last thing Aoi ever saw before darkness claimed him was the very same cloaked figure approach the puppet from behind it and sealing it away in a scroll.

Uzumaki Naruto looked at the body of his latest victim, not up to his usual standards admittedly, though he did not kill this missing-nin for the money. He had finally got a tip a few weeks ago about there whereabouts of the Raijin, the lightning blade of the Nidaime Hokage, and it apparently was in the hands of his fool who so readily waved it around like it instantly meant his invincibility – it was obvious that it did the opposite though, causing him to think he was much better then he really was; how someone like this could be a jounin, he would never know.

Walking over to the corpse, Naruto removed the head and sealed it away in a scroll that he keeps all his bounties in before handing them in. The technique he used to seal the head in the scroll was one he taught himself, wanting to learn the intricate art of Fuuinjutsu after reading so much about it; it was probably for the best seeing as he should know all about the immensely strong seal placed on his stomach as he could.

After sealing away the head, he took the brown cylindrical hilt of the Raijin sword before rolling up the cloaked covered sleeve of his left arm, showing three main kanji figures surrounded by other sealing kanji tattoos. The two main symbols were the kanji of 'one' and 'two' that were in red while the kanji around it was random but essential for the sealing of powerful objects on one's body, if nothing, it made for a cool looking tattoo.

­

Nicking his right thumb with one of his teeth, Naruto used the now bleeding appendage to swipe blood across the symbol for 'two' and then applied chakra to it. Immediately, there was a small puff of smoke and in the clearing, was now the lifeless body of the Nidaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato who was turned into a human puppet by the young man in the clearing.

Naruto did not want anyone to have access to these puppets other then himself, so, he sealed them away on his own body where only his chakra and blood could summon them from the sealing / summoning tattoos he placed them in.

Firing a quick Katon jutsu he learned from a scroll he found on a dead Konoha shinobi with one handed hand seals, he destroyed the rest of Aoi's body before getting Nidaime to grab the Raijin after throwing it at him.

Expert puppeteers were known to be able to control puppets with only one chakra string, if enough skill was shown and though Naruto could certainly do that with his regular battle puppets, he had a little problem with doing it with his human puppets, still requiring three strings to use them so they would be at their most effective. Even though that was technically plenty seeing as he could control both his puppets simultaneously with both hands, that did not stop Naruto from trying to be able to use only one strong on each to control them, who knows when he would need the extra hand in a fight?

With the Raijin in hand, Naruto made the Nidaime use his own chakra to activate the sword and do several experimental swings with a smirk as he went through a standard kenjutsu kata he saw once. It wasn't really essential that he learn Kenjutsu to control the Nidaime's use of the sword, the sword's usefulness was in using its lightning properties to send electrical shockwaves through his water jutsu, to make them more deadly. That and he doubted there was a blade that could block the Raijin for long anyway except for one of the members of Akatsuki who had a blade that would probably eat the chakra of the Raijin if they were to clash.

After he was sure that he had the control of his puppet down, Naruto sealed him back into his arm with the Raijin and used Shunshin to get out of the immediate area, disappearing in the wind.

As Naruto arrived at the place he had spent the majority of his time since Sasori-sensei had rescued him from Konoha, he immediately suppressed his chakra signature and hid in the shadows when he heard a voice other then his sensei's talking in a heated argument.

"Sasori-kun, I know you are the one that took the bodies of my two favorite test subjects, now tell me where they are and I won't have to kill you" threatened a pale faced ninja with snake like yellow eyes and long silky black hair, this shinobi was none other then Orochimaru of the Sannin, S-class missing-nin of Konoha. With him stood someone who Sasori had told Naruto was a spy for him in Orochimaru's midst who had silver hair and spectacles, from memory, his name was Kabuto and he was currently enrolled as a shinobi of Konoha as a spy.

"So, you come to my hideout, threaten my life when I have just come from a mission for Akatsuki and am exhausted and on top of that, you believe me responsible for stealing the corpses of two Hokages, if it were not for the fact that you outnumber me and I wasn't exhausted, you'd already be dead – be gone before my organization realizes what has happened and they forget whatever mercy they have given you and take your head in seconds" threatened Sasori back at his ex-partner.

Orochimaru got a cruel smirk on his face and before Sasori could react, Kabuto attacked, slicing off Hiruko's tail and arms. As Sasori leapt into the trees, ready to abandon Hiruko and use his ultimate puppeteer technique to kill his enemies a sword pierced him through the seal on his chest that contained his heart, the only part of his body that was still in tact and the only thing that could be used to kill him. The Orochimaru he had been talking to dissolved in mud as the real one materialized behind him after hiding under some invisibility jutsu.

"Was that wise Orochimaru-sama, now we can not find your best test subjects…" inquired Kabuto, despite the glare Orochimaru sent at him.

­

"The fool probably turned them into dolls, they would be no further use to me" he explained.

"What about Akatsuki? Surely they will want revenge?" asked Kabuto again as Orochimaru chuckled.

"Sasori-kun was much too careless, he assumed I did not know of his little apprentice he had been training" he replied with a cool smirk as Naruto watched on from the shadows trying to suppress his killing intent, he would not attack though for he too was tired after a long journey home and it would be foolish to do so against an unknown opponent.

"Who was this apprentice?" asked Kabuto, intrigued.

Orochimaru smirked again "The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, it seems that Sasori-kun didn't share the same views as his organization so even if they seek retribution I can just let that information slip and they will search for Naruto-kun instead of focusing on me, remember Kabuto" he said, turning a glare at him "Do not question my motives again. I am not foolish and you are in no position to question me" he warned.

"Hai, Orochimaru-sama" responded the faithful servant as they both disappeared using Shunshin no jutsu, most likely heading back to Otogakure, the newly founded shinobi village in tea country.

Immediately, after Naruto was sure they were gone, he ran out to the clearing and pulled Sasori out of his protective puppet body, revealing a wheezing and dying human puppet who smiled weakly up at him.

"Naruto…you were smart to stay hidden…" complemented Sasori while Naruto kept quiet, knowing that these would be his sensei's last words.

"I'm…dying…but I should let you know…you have surpassed my every expectation as a student…you will be great" he said, as the light in his eyes started to dim "Don't be tied down…by a hidden village…and take my Sendaime…puppet…use it well…"

Naruto looked on his at his sensei's body, silent tears running down his face as he watched the first person who truly cared for him die in his arms.

"Take…my journals…they have large amounts of information…on Akatsuki's plans…other missing-nin…and Orochimaru…kill Orochimaru…you are stronger then he is…especially with the Kages at your side…" Sasori was now speaking to him though it seemed as if his voice was failing him, which was weird as he had no lungs or vocal cords necessarily to speak of, his sensei's body was eerily complicated, too much so for him to try and comprehend right now anyway.

"I may never have said it…but I did care about you…like a son…take care of yourself…Naruto…kun" he finished, the light from his eyes dimming as he died in his arms. Naruto let out a strangled sob he was holding in and furiously wiped at his eyes, not willing to show weakness, especially in honor of his dead sensei.

Naruto now took Sasori's heart out of the special seal he kept it in the chest cavity of his body and buried it near the cave he loved so much. Naruto then sealed his body along with Hiruko in a separate scroll after removing his special Akatsuki ring from his finger, not willing to let anyone happen on it and use the findings to their advantage, never to be seen or used again. He found the scroll in which he had sealed the Sendaime Kazekage in and unsealed it, revealing the spiky black haired Kage with a large gourd filled with poisoned Iron sand and covered in dark robes.

Naruto then set out to carve another seal tattoo in his forearm near the ones for his other Kage puppets that was this time green instead of red with three horizontal lines on top of each other, signifying the Kanji for 'three' surrounded by other sealing kanji before he applied chakra to the tattoo, causing it to shine with a blue light and envelop the Sendaime Kazekage puppet and seal it into his arm.

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Naruto then went into the cave where he found all of Sasori's information scrolls and spent the rest of the night reading through them, learning all the information about every missing-nin of B-rank and above in the Bingo book from all over the shinobi nations, about the different hidden villages and what jutsus they each stored and specialized in, about the spies he had planted and what they had each reported to him most recently about their village's plans along with his research on puppets.

He didn't finish until morning the next day when he finally went to sleep in his regular bed in the hideout, not to wake for another five hours.

When he awoke, he stored all of Sasori's gear, puppets, information and scrolls in the same scroll he sealed his body and Hiruko in and separately sealed that scroll with another sealing tattoo on his right arm, not wanting it to fall in the wrong hands. He preferred sealing important things with tattoos on his person as he disliked having to carry a ridiculous amount of scrolls on his person constantly and in all honesty, they did look cool. He sealed it with the kanji for 'love' signifying the main feeling he felt for his sensei and savior for the past seven years and began with the project he intended on doing before leaving this place for good and setting out in the world on his own.

Naruto removed his cloak, hat and shirt to reveal his naked torso before molding some chakra at his navel to show the intricate seals holding the Kyuubi at bay. Naruto's main reason for learning Fuuinjutsu was so that he could understand his own seal better and now that he did, he found a way that he could improve on it to improve himself. Through Naruto's training with Sasori, one thing he realized was that the fox had an influence on his body, whether he liked it or not, and it gave him enhanced physical stamina due to the large chakra stores and also enhanced healing abilities. Knowing this, he set out to try and see if he could use the same idea to try and enhance some of his own senses using the fox as a base for that, namely his sight, hearing and smell, three senses that if enhanced would aid a shinobi immensely in battle and out of it.

Eventually, he had designed a seal he was going to add to the current one that would unseal those particular senses, therefore adding them to his own – he had to however make sure that nothing else would unseal in the process so the fox could not attempt to release some of its influence on its container – he was sure that he could get in contact with the demon, but he had no desire to do so, not that he was scared, but he wanted to avoid that unpleasant experience.

Naruto laid out on his back with the seal exposed and used chakra strings to dip an ink brush into the pot of ink he had sitting beside him before he quickly and efficiently began to paint additional kanji around in a circular pattern around the seal. He had to be very specific in what he wanted to do or the unsealing could have any possible consequence, thus was the magic of Fuuinjutsu, the branch of shinobi techniques was nearly limitless and in that was its main weakness, you had to be deadly specific in your sealing or something could go horribly wrong.

Once he was done with painting on the seals, he observed his work and deemed it adequate before snapping three of his fingers together and adding chakra to each so that bright blue chakra could be seen on each fingertip; he took a deep breath before slamming it into the seal on his stomach.

Had Naruto known there would be pain in the procedure, he might have been able to brace himself, as it was though, he was expecting no such thing so when pain erupted in his head so large that he had never felt it before, he immediately blacked out.

When Naruto opened his eyes, he realized that he was in absolutely no pain, which was weird seeing as the last thing he remembered before passing out was an immense amount of pain in his head.

Looking around, it seemed that he was in an old and moldy sewer with shin high water everywhere. He heard the sound of water dripping in the distance while up above there were thick pipes leading down the corridor, the largest of which veering off to the left and into another room. Decided he had nothing better to do, and realizing he didn't feel wet as he walked through the water, he followed the larger pipes into a huge room with a gate that was over several hundred feet tall and roughly one hundred and fifty feet wide. The large gate seemed to be kept closed with a piece of paper with the word 'seal' on it. As he stepped closer to inspect the paper, he saw two ­

humongous eyes open each with red pupils and a large mouth filled with razor sharp teeth in the darkness – it didn't take a genius to figure out where he was.

"Kyuubi" stated Naruto without much emotion, knowing that if he showed fear, the demon would exploit it, though oddly enough, he didn't honestly feel fear, perhaps it had something to do with knowing how fail safe the seal was and knowing the great demon could do nothing to him. To his amusement though, it seemed the demon was annoyed at how he could instill no fear in his jailor.

In an incredibly loud and booming voice, the great demon responded **"So it seems my container has tried to alter the seal and winds up in here, not scared of me are you boy?"** the demon asks to make sure, its razor sharp teeth glistening in the light of the room.

Naruto rolled his eyes at the attempt to frighten him "I have altered the seal, unsealing some of your senses without you having influence over them, I imagine it would be beneficial for both of us so try not to fight it, it will be quite…annoying if you were to do so" explained Naruto in a tone that showed no respect or disrespect.

"**Why shouldn't I you lousy monkey? You try and steal my demonic traits and I shouldn't interfere? I should kill you were you stand!" **he replied, changing to a roar at the end, though Naruto stood there completely unfazed.

"You mean other then the fact that by unsealing your sight, hearing and smelling abilities that you too will be able to see, hear and smell what I smell? You are the one that should be grateful that I showed you such a mercy, I no doubt could find a way to seal off your access to the senses completely, though I really don't feel the need to as you have no control over them anyway" replied Naruto, eyeing the large Kitsune before continuing "The way I see it, you should be grateful seeing as in reality, you owe me more then you can repay with the pain I have been forced to live through due to your idiocy" hissed Naruto, both knew exactly that he was referring to him rampaging across fire country.

"**Why should I be thankful?!" **roared the Kitsune **"If it weren't for me, you would be dead from the injuries you sustained!"** he argued only to receive a humorless laughter from Naruto in return.

"Should I thank the person responsible for saving me from a pit of deadly snakes when said person was the one for throwing me in the pit in the first place? I think not" said Naruto "With the alteration of the seal, you will see, hear and smell what I do while communications between us will be limited, the enhancements will no doubt make me more formidable and thus make the container of the 'great and mighty king of demons'" Naruto emphasized with air quotations "more famous and renown, not to mention that I could, quite easily, seal you off from those senses – the way I see it, you owe me more then you can repay, lets start by you telling me why it is that I passed out though" finished Naruto while looking at the Kitsune expectantly, not once wavering his voice as he addressed the very being that would cause lesser men to pee in their pants at the sight of him let alone a regular thirteen year old boy.

After several moments of silence, the Kyuubi probably decided his points were valid as he proceeded to talk without the previous animosity he held for his container earlier **"The pain you felt was the result of you gaining my eyes in the sealing. When you attempted to gain my senses, you failed to realize that my senses may be enhanced by abilities or different properties that would carry over to you with this procedure. My eyes, in this instance, are special in the sense that they make a master of illusions should they possess them. As a Kitsune, I was a master of illusions, or what you may call 'Genjutsu' and my eyes allowed me to see through and create illusions by using my eyes or making eye contact with my enemies, you most likely have gained possession of this too and the pain was your eyes being destroyed only to be replaced by my own"** explained the giant fox as Naruto grinned.

"They will allow me to perform Genjutsu without hand seals and break any Genjutsu?" asked Naruto, sounding extremely interested. Kyuubi just closed its eyes as if in thought before he opened them and mirrored Naruto's grin.

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"**I am pleased that my container sees the value in using such illusions and is not like all those other lousy meat bags that try and use flashy techniques to compare penis sizes; yes, you're ambition to create illusions without the use of petty hand seals will be possible if you make eye contact with your opponent, however, that only creates illusions targeted for said person you have made eye contact with, it will not work with area of effect illusions. You will also be able to see through any illusion – what kind of Kitsune would I be if I were to be fooled by others? These eyes are not technically a 'doujutsu' though as they are simply the abilities of my eyes, like how normal human eyes are designed to see by sending messages to the brain, mine were designed to be used as thus as well as see. You will not be able to activate or deactivate them at will seeing as you literally have my eyes now, they will look exactly like the ones you see here" **he explained, as Naruto looked into its red pupils with black slits thinking how intimidating it would look when his opponents looked into his eyes.

"**When you wake up, you will no doubt be assaulted by the smells, sights and sounds surrounding you and I suggest blocking off two of the three senses immediately so you can get used to them, then unblock one of the other two until you get used to it and so on. Now, if there is nothing else?"** the Kyuubi asked, sounding irritated at having to impart his wonderful knowledge on a lowly human.

"Nothing" replied Naruto.

"**Then you can leave with my thanks and best wishes, become strong with these gifts and leave me in peace, I may not be able to break out of the seal, but I sure as hell am not going to die because my opponent was weak, leave!" **he finished as he forcefully expelled Naruto from his mind and back to the land of the living.

As Naruto opened his eyes, he was glad that he had attempted this in a cave as it was now morning and the sun was shining through the tree canopies outside onto the forest floor. However, the dripping water he could hear like a gong every two seconds and the itching of his nose were enough to want to outright murder someone.

Finding some tissues, he stuffed some into his ears and nose, hoping that he wouldn't get ambushed anytime soon as he needed to train his senses so he was not overwhelmed by their new power and how sensitive they now were.

Covering his eyes with his hand as to add some shade, Naruto stepped outside the cave, the glaring sun being covered by his hand and looked around in every direction in the forest. Looking out into the forest then back into the cave he noticed that he could see in both equally well, which was spectacularly well. It seemed that his sight was increased to that of a hawk, or fox would be more appropriate, as he was able to make out incredibly fine details such as nicks and cuts on trees over a hundred feet away, he was also able to see into the cave from outside as if it were lit within, which it was not as there was no fire on inside and the lamps were out. He came to the conclusion that these eyes must pick up light signals better then his old ones and send them back to his brain, allowing for vision in the night and better all around vision.

Walking over to the nearby stream, he bent down and looked at the reflection of his face in the clear water to see two slitted black pupils surrounded by blood red irises in the middle of his white eyes, it truly did make for an intimidating and cool sight. After spending several minutes fooling around and 'posing' with different glared to 'see how they would look' Naruto chuckled quietly to himself and spent the rest of the day standing in the middle of the clearing with two of his main senses blocked off as he tried to spot different minor details in the area. He then ran around at high speeds to see if his sight could pick things up while moving at said speeds, and to his delight, it could do so wonderfully. Finally, he looked up into the sky without looking directly at the sun to find that he had gotten used to his eyes to the point where they were at least better than his old ones.

After making himself some dinner by catching some fish and eating them in over a fire, he spotted a small squirrel on the other side of the clearing and decided to see if he could use his new eyes' power on it. Focusing chakra through his eyes, and focusing on what illusion he wanted to place ­

the unsuspecting Squirrel under, he performed the Genjutsu. As he did so, he felt the chakra mold itself behind his eyes before being expelled through them into his opponent, the squirrel.

What happened next put a big grin on his face that would not get whipped off for quite some time, the squirrel scurried over to a rock that he had tricked it into believing it was a piece of meat and attempted to eat it, only to gnaw at it with confusion as the juicy piece of meat would not be punctured.

Naruto awoke the next morning, keen to work on his hearing next as he took out the pieces of tissue he used to block out most of the sound coming to his ears. With enhanced hearing, it was like a double edged sword, he may be able to hear extremely well, but that could be used against him should someone attack him with sound techniques like shinobi from Otogakure would or if they simply used loud sounds to distract him, so, he would have to learn to regulate sounds coming into his ears so that he would not blow his eardrums when trying to hear out his opponents from a distance.

He sat next to a roaring waterfall which at first almost deafened him but he got used to it as he tried to pick up other sounds in the surrounding area despite the booming sound coming from behind him. This exercise took him several days in comparison to his eyes, which he had slowly gotten used to more as the days went by, but after four days of practicing his hearing, he was finally ready to train his smelling so it was up to par.

His newfound sense of smell was much easier to get accustomed to as all he needed to do was plant several different odors around his camp site at different distances away such as poisons, food, animals and flowers and try to pinpoint each one with just the use of his nose. At first it was hard to distinguish between all of the different smells his senses were assaulted with, as he could also smell the dew on the trees and grass, the smell of something burning, animal droppings, mold on the cave walls and such, so he changed his tactic by walking around the forest and taking in the smell of as many individual substances he could including the things he placed around the forest as well as different animals, trees, even going so far as to go into the closest town and taking in the smell of different people, alcohol, building materials, foods and cloth. This was by far the longest sense to train as really, it probably would never stop being trained as he could always find something new that would give off a new scent, so, all he tried to do for now was to control his sense of smell so he was not bombarded a horrid stench every time someone decides to pass gas in his presence.

It had now been roughly a month since he altered the seal and began to train his senses to a point where he was satisfied. His hearing was back to normal, but he got such control over it that should he want to hear things at a distance such as a whispered conversations over a hundred feet away, all he would need to do is apply chakra to his ears and he could focus on where the sound was coming from to hear it. His smell was coming along nicely, now no longer feeling the need to empty his stomach whenever passing a used toilet or when someone passes gas in his immediate vicinity, which he was immensely grateful for. The most fun he had though was with his sight as he placed minor Genjutsu on unsuspecting villagers and even some lowly bandits for fun and while making money which to his delight, worked extremely well.

Now though he faced the problem of still needing experience if he was to ever stand a chance against his enemies and needing a steady source of income. The thirteen year old decided that he would leave the place he had come to call as home for good, as it only brought him bad feelings now with the death of his sensei, and travel the shinobi world, obtaining technique scrolls, getting bounties and gaining valuable fighting experience. He may be strong, but if there was one thing Sasori-sensei taught him it was that 'there was always room for improvement' and he intended to do just that.

Donning his dark grey cloak and straw hat, Uzumaki Naruto set off into the world and began his travels.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note:

Author's Note:

This chapter contains scenes of rape and gore – the fiction is rates 'M' for a reason, you have been warned.

Chapter 5: Enter Haku

Team seven under jounin Hatake Kakashi currently sat in their client's house after their sensei fainted from chakra exhaustion caused by his fight with a missing-nin Momochi Zabuza. Their mission was to escort the old bridge builder to his home in the land of waves and protect him from rogue thugs and bandits who worked for someone who didn't want the bridge connecting the island nation to the mainland, thus increasing the nation's economy and bringing them from the brink of poverty.

Things rarely go as planned though as the three newly appointed Genin, Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura and Hyuuga Hanabi under jounin sensei Hatake Kakashi encountered two chunin level missing-nin on this supposed 'C' ranked mission followed by Zabuza himself, an 'A' ranked missing-nin, whose interference placed the mission as a high 'B' rank mission to a low 'A' rank one at least, far too dangerous for the likes of genin level shinobi fresh out of the academy.

If you were to ask the genin their opinion of the matter though they would tell you different. Uchiha Sasuke, the sold survivor of the Uchiha massacre after his brother single handedly wiped out the entire clan save him in one night with the use of the legendary Mangekyou Sharingan before mentally attacking the then eight year old Sasuke and fleeing from the village, all in the process of 'testing his capacity'. Ever since that incident, the brooding Uchiha changed from his vibrant if somewhat cocky youthful attitude to one of dark, brooding and arrogant nature with a legion of fan-girls after his cold heart. The Uchiha were famous for their roles as the enforcers of Konoha, running the police force on their own until the clan was wiped out – they did this with the aid of their bloodline limit, the Sharingan, which as the name suggests, allows the user to commit many things to memory including Ninjutsu, Genjutsu and Taijutsu movement at a singular glance. Due to this bloodline limit being a doujutsu like the Hyuuga's Byakugan, there has been an age old conflict between the two families over who is the strongest in Konoha.

Haruno Sakura was one of these said fan girls, with pink hair an abnormally large forehead and a slim and unfit looking figure. She, like most girls her age after the Uchiha do not take being shinobi seriously and follow the brooding boy around like lost puppies. The girl had no real shinobi skills to speak of but to be fair; she did have incredibly good book smarts and an impressive control over her miniscule chakra supply. Her once best friend and currently main rival in achieving Sasuke's affection Yamanaka Ino, a fellow class mate and member of team ten was the only thing giving her drive at all to get better aside from impressing her wonderful 'Sasuke-kun'. Sakura comes from a non-shinobi background with both her parents being civilians and her being the first shinobi in the family – her family push her to try and win the Uchiha's affection to elevate the Haruno's standing within Konoha, something that Sakura was all to happy to oblige with.

The last and youngest member of the team at the age of ten, making her four years younger then her teammates was Hyuuga Hanabi, sister to the heiress of the prestigious Hyuuga clan and daughter of Hyuuga Hiashi, the head of the clan. Arrogant, cold and serious to a fault, she was a very good shinobi, especially for her age. She was seen as a prodigy in the Gentle First taijutsu style of the Hyuuga which uses their bloodline limit the Byakugan to see their opponent's chakra system while they use precise bursts of chakra from their hand and fingers to close the pathways, stopping the flow of chakra and immobilizing of killing their opponents with a single blow. The black haired girl had an extreme hate for her sister who holds the title of clan heiress over her head like it was some superficial toy to show off, even if she was nowhere near as proficient or skilled of a shinobi as Hanabi. This resentment of her sister along with the treatment she receives as a result of it has grown to become a bitterness that she holds towards her family for allowing such a 'weakling' to claim the title.

Now though, they all sat in the dining room of their client, Tazuna's, house waiting for their sensei to wake up after his fight with the missing-nin to see what is on the schedule for the day. Suddenly, three heads whipped in the direction of the stairs to see a tall silver haired man whose hair seemed to defy gravity that wore a facemask covering his lower face and a Konoha forehead protector with the insignia of the Leaf village on it worn diagonally covering his left eye. He was leaning on a single crutch as he hobbled down the stairs, obviously still suffering from fatigue after his right.

"Yo" he said happily, his one visibly eye curving which was the only sign that the man was smiling, as well as the small creases in his mask where his cheeks rose from smiling.

"Kakashi-sensei, are you feeling better?" asked Sakura, fussing over her sensei who seemed perfectly fine were it not for the fatigue.

"Hai, Hai, I actually came down here to discuss a couple of things with you three" confessed Kakashi, shrugging off Sakura's concern. Seeing that he had all three of their attention, Sasuke's while eating rice and Hanabi even though she was leaning against the wall and looking out the window, he could tell she was listening.

"Zabuza may not be dead" he said simply, causing an instant reaction from the three genin who all whipped their heads in his direction and Sasuke choking on his rice, making for a comical sight – he had to suppress a chuckle as Hanabi smirked at the sight, she seemed to take extreme pleasure in watching the Uchiha heir make a fool of himself.

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"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'NOT DEAD' SENSEI?!" came the question from Sakura, the pink haired banshee whose screams were some sort of sound based ninjutsu, he was certain of it.

"Well…I mean that he's still alive" he deadpanned as Sakura face vaulted and Hanabi smirked again, Sasuke was still coughing and pounding his chest where his 'food pipe' was in the hopes it would aid in making it go down. After some more choking and realizing it wouldn't work, he thought quick and made some hand seals before initiating the 'Gokakyu no jutsu' incinerating the offensive rice. He then glared at everyone in the room after he was sure he wasn't going to die for not helping, though no one seemed to notice.

Hanabi was the one who decided to get some more information "What makes you believe that Momochi-san is still alive Kakashi-sensei?" she asked stoically with only the slightest sign of amusement showing in her eyes at both her teammate's actions.

"Well, firstly the hunter-nin didn't dispose of the body on the spot and took it away, likely to escape. Secondly, their weapon of choice was a Senbon to the neck to kill, which is usually not the best way to kill somebody, though it is quite an effective way to put someone in a death like state. Zabuza's heartbeat must have been so slow that I missed the pulse when I checked…" he explained to the three students, hoping to teach them a lesson and to the avidly listening Tazuna with his daughter Tsunami.

"So…what are you gonna do?" asked a nervous Tazuna, not sure how much he should trust ninja whose allegiance was to their village and not some old bridge builder.

Kakashi shrugged and motioned to his cane "Not much I can do, but that's ok, Zabuza shouldn't be in fighting condition for another two weeks, one at least – I did severely injure him before he escaped. In that time I intend to set up guard rotations for you at the bridge and train my team some" he explained, motioning towards his students, two of which looked excited and eager while the pink haired one looked at the Uchiha for his reaction before deciding to be excited, this action was not lost on either Hanabi, Sasuke or Kakashi either.

Uzumaki Naruto stood at the edge of the forest up in a tree observing the state of the land of wave. At first glance, one would easily say that this country would be a beggar's nest that couldn't possibly prosper, but Naruto knew better. His old sensei who passed on around a year ago now had brought him here a few times to get supplies and train his Genjutsu and get mercenary work and when he had come then, the place had been booming economically with most of the shipping infrastructure under its control.

According to some intelligence he had happened upon though, the land was having its proverbial balls held in a vice by the evil businessman Gato of Gato inc. who had milked the country dry of all economical resources by controlling the docks and any transport off the island nation so he literally controlled wave's economy.

His plan was simple, find Gato, kill him, take his assets for his own, give half back to the country, make sure the bridge they're trying to build gets completed and in the end, he will get a country to offer his services to for hire – he needed to make money after all. It wasn't that he was poor, far from it, especially after he relinquishes Gato of his assets and finds a new source of employment, but he had plans to achieve, and those plans needed money.

Taking one last look at the humongous bridge in the distance leading to the mainland that was almost complete, he lowered his straw hat and headed towards the village – he had some information gathering to accomplish.

Once he was on the outskirts of the local village closest to the uncompleted bridge, he made several dozen Kage Bunshin and had them henge into different looking civilians before sending them into the city with some cash each. It should be fairly easy for a paying customer to obtain information in a poor village, especially if said customer had no regard to the consequences of his 'questioning'. Not that he was scared of Gato or his men, but he couldn't have Gato know that a powerful shinobi was onto him and after his head, the man would just relocate his business and make finding him again all the more troublesome.

As he waited in the forest he plucked a leaf from the nearby tree and held it in his palm with his other hand resting on top of his other palm, enclosing the leaf in between his hands. This was an exercise he picked up from a scroll he had stolen from Sunagakure one time that helped in training his chakra's natural affinity, which was wind. In his studies, he read that most shinobis'

Chakra leans towards a certain nature and there was a way to test this. The way in which he used was the 'paper test' which required a special piece of card that he had to channel chakra into to discover what his chakra affinity was. The reaction he got was that the card split in two down the middle, which indicated his chakra's natural affinity was wind. Had the card burnt, his affinity would be fire, had it crumbled, it would be lightning, had it turned to dust, he would be earth and if it had gotten wet, he would be water.

If one discovers their chakra's affinity early, they can train it and learn to manipulate it, not to mention that learning to manipulate the type of chakra one's own chakra has an affinity towards is infinitely easier then learning to manipulate chakra of any other type. The current exercise he was doing – splitting a leaf down the middle with only ­

the use of wind chakra – was the first step in learning to manipulate wind based chakra and once he mastered that nature manipulation, it would be infinitely easier to do wind based jutsus or add wind based chakra to other jutsus and or weapons.

Naruto pulled his hands apart to see the leaf had indeed split perfectly down the middle. With a small smirk, he threw the two pieces of the leaf away and leaned his head against the tree while constantly keeping aware of his surroundings. Originally, when he had pilfered a scroll from Suna which detailed how to train in wind manipulation, he had read it many times and it took him a good month to get it down. He knew he could have used the skill of Kage Bunshin to have all his clones do it with him so he would learn quicker, but he felt that when he learned things on his own, he could use them better then if he had taken a shortcut to learning.

It had taken him a good portion of this last year to get it down, but he was finally able to manipulate his chakra into wind based chakra at will to add it to his jutsus if required, or his weapons or simply use the wind based chakra on its own, it was definitely worth the time he spent learning.

He had read from Sasori's journals on the subject that two of the three sannin, Orochimaru and Jiraiya had mastered manipulating their chakra into all five forms which was a respectable feat on its own – they weren't Sannin for nothing.

At that moment, he felt some foreign knowledge come into his mind signifying that one of his clones had learned something and dispelled him self to pass on the information to Naruto.

It seemed that Gato, along with his regular band of petty samurai and mercenaries has hired two missing-nin, one of which was Momochi Zabuza, 'A' ranked nuke-nin from Kirigakure no Sato and also formally member of the seven swordsmen of the mist. He was once a subordinate of Hoshigake Kisame, one of the members of Akatsuki, also an ex-member from the seven swordsman of the mist; however he attempted a coup de tat against the old Mizukage which failed, causing him to flee from the country and become a missing-nin. He must be desperate if he is sinking low enough to take work from an evil businessman to get money.

It seemed that Zabuza also had an accomplice who he bragged about being stronger then even he, not that Zabuza was incredibly skilled, but he was a jounin and was dangerous. His clone couldn't get anymore information on this mysterious accomplice though so it dispelled itself before he was discovered.

He then shuddered when he realized what his clone had to do to get that information. It had used henge to disguise itself as a female prostitute and coerced the information from one of the higher ranking mercenaries that were patrolling the docks, thank god it used a Genjutsu to get the information instead of 'servicing' him or else he would probably be scarred by the action for life.

Just then, another clone dispersed itself revealing more information. Apparently, the old bridge builder hired a team of genin with their jounin sensei to guard him while he finished construction on the bridge; they also apparently had a run in with Zabuza before arriving here and were unable to kill him. The only information the clone got about the group was that their sensei was the infamous copy ninja Hatake Kakashi from Konoha.

Konoha. How he hated that village, he still remembered how he was treated when he was but a child and he also remembered how it was that Sasori had found him in Konoha. He got them back though by stealing several high ranking jutsu scrolls from the Hokage's mansion, useful ones too filled with Katon jutsus, Kinjutsus and medical ninjutsu, not that he had a use for the latter personally, but who knows when he could find some use for it – he had no interest in learning any advanced medical ninjutsu save for the basic Shosen no jutsu to speed up cell regeneration on another's body. Kyuubi was more then enough to heal his own wounds, and much better then any jutsu too.

Just then, he got a message from one of his Shadow clones saying that he had spotted the team from Konoha training their chakra control in the forest near the bridge. Smirking at the information, he sent a message back to that specific clone to keep a constant eye on them and not to be seen. God he loved the Kage Bunshin technique, infinitely useful.

The Kage Bunshin Naruto stood in the trees hidden by the leaves and branches between him and the group of three people practicing in the clearing. These children all looked to be training chakra control by doing the tree climbing exercise. Naruto just rolled his eyes; these children looked to be his age and are only now doing the tree climbing exercise? Oh how the mighty have fallen. Konoha, said to be the strongest of the five shinobi nations having genin that do not have enough chakra or control to complete this exercise.

Looking in the clearing again, it seemed that the smallest of the three, a Hyuuga, was the best at the exercise, being able to scale the tree without falling, however her reserves wouldn't allow for her to do it more then a few times as she already looked tired. The pink haired one who was so unbelievingly loud and constantly annoying the only boy of the three had also scaled the tree but her reserves were so bad, she couldn't even make her way back down the tree she scaled. The boy was able to scale 20 feet up the tree before flipping off and landing on the ground to try again, it seemed he had decent reserves but average control over them.

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His observations almost made him want to snort in amusement and he would have if he didn't want to remain hidden. Sasori-sensei had him doing these exercises when he was seven years old and he completed them in one day only to continue doing them to increase his reserves and control further. Would he have wound up this pathetic if he had stayed in Konoha? He was now immensely grateful, well, more then he already was to his late sensei for taking him away from that sorry excuse for a village – though, he reasoned that most villages would have the same standard if Konoha was viewed as the strongest.

Just then, a silver haired ninja wearing the standard Konoha jounin uniform with one eye being covered by his forehead protector limped into the clearing using the crutch to balance himself or to lean on – classic symptoms of exhaustion.

Naruto recognized the man from the pictures of him in the bingo book, Hatake Kakashi. The man walked into the clearing and gave a few pieces of advice to the genin before his head snapped in his direction. Heh, he was a Kage Bunshin after all, he couldn't honestly expect to be able to repress his chakra enough to remain hidden and stay in existence.

Immediately, he felt a kunai to his throat and a presence of someone behind him while Kakashi disappeared from the shocked genin's view. The Hyuuga then activated her bloodline limit and looked in their direction and widened her eyes, it seemed that she had finally spotted him.

"Who are you and why are you spying on my team?" asked Kakashi in what was supposed to be a threatening voice, Naruto didn't feel threatened though, the man was in no condition to fight and he was only a clone after all.

Naruto merely stood up slowly, with his back still to Kakashi. Turning his head ever so slightly, Naruto spied this new threat from the shade of his straw hat, still keeping his eyes from view. Kakashi seemed to be eyeing him warily, if only he knew.

"Hatake Kakashi" answered Naruto, surprising Kakashi at his young sounding voice "My reasons are my own".

Immediately, his surprise disappeared though and Kakashi narrowed his eyes, ready to slit his throat. Naruto merely smirked under the cover of his cloak though and muttered two words that made Kakashi gasp and leap away before it was too late.

"Bunshin Daibakuha"

The chakra within the clone rushed out in one massive display of power, expelling the chakra within the clone with such force it created a massive explosion that all but destroyed the tree they were standing on and blasting Kakashi into another tree.

As soon as Kakashi landed, using his crutch for support, his three genin were by his side with worried, anxious and even excited looks.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" screeched the pink haired banshee, causing the other three to wince, how the loud girl passed the ninja exam was beyond them.

"That was someone who has been spying on you for an unknown amount of time before I arrived; I only barely sensed his chakra signature when I arrived so its no surprise that you all missed it – what shocked me though is that it was a Kage Bunshin, not a real person. Also, the technique used to explode the Kage Bunshin also surprised me, both techniques are Kinjutsu native to Konoha and I am positive that he was no Konoha shinobi – I also don't know of any Konoha missing-nin that would fit his description and could use those two jutsu…" he trailed off, not knowing how the next bit of information would affect his team.

"The only other Konoha missing-nin who could use both those techniques and is young is Uchiha Itachi, but he would be older then that shinobi sounded…"

At the mention of Uchiha, both Hanabi and Sakura turned to eye Sasuke who seemed to be glaring at the ground while clenching his fists in rage. Without another word, the brooding Uchiha went back to his tree to continue his training while the other two girls followed. After the commotion, none of the four noticed the barely audible pop signifying the disappearing of another Kage Bunshin a few hundred yards away.

Elsewhere in the same forest, Uzumaki Naruto's eyes glazed as he assimilated the information from his last two clones.

"Hn" was his noncommittal reply as he went back to meditating as his clones gathered information.

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Several days later found Naruto leaning against a tree trunk, his straw hat pulled over his eyes and his cloak unbuttoned down to his mid torso, revealing his chest and lower half of his face. The importance of the lower half of his face being visible was that if one were to look closely, they would see a stick of what seemed to be Pocky sticking out of the corner of his mouth as he sucked on it and read a scroll he had unrolled.

Naruto had found out a lot of information in the past few days about Gato and his organization. In his attempts to find his hideout and destroy his organization, his clones had discovered some vital information.

Every night at midnight, an appointed leader of shipping trade would visit the docks to supervise some of the shipment imports and exports before having a word with many of the employees and leaving to an undisclosed location. The reason why the location was undisclosed was that he entered a building on the edge of town that lead to a large underground tunnel leading to a totally different island he assumed which was where Gato based his empire.

The only thing stopping him from sneaking in and assassinating the evil businessman was lack of information. The one thing Sasori had hammered into his head over and over was that even if you are confident in your abilities, rushing into a situation uninformed was a quick way to ensure your death, for even a civilian could kill a seasoned ninja with some poison and clever tactics.

It also seemed that the village was on the brink of starvation as prices for meager meals shot up to astronomical amounts and actual food imports for anyone aside people who worked for Gato were few and far between, this increased the theft rate amongst the villagers by a large amount and thus, the violence in their desperation.

He was just thanking Kami that he had learned to hunt and fish else he would be suffering from these effects too, not to mention he had an almost infinite supply of different flavors of Pocky sealed away in a 'special' scroll under his cloak.

Naruto gave a wistful sigh as he remembered the day he had gotten hooked on the lovely sweet. He was complaining to Sasori about the lack of Ramen when he was first taken on as an apprentice which drove his sensei mad. In a last ditched effort to stop his whining, he had purchased a box of Pocky from the closest village claiming that there was no Ramen there and that it was popular with the 'kids'. As soon as he tried the sweet he was hooked with the wonderful chocolate flavors mixing with the bread stick it was coated on, not to mention the fact that there were literally dozen of different flavors, one for every day of the month!

He was interrupted from his thoughts when he heard the crunching of grass a few hundred feet away from his position and the scent of, strangely enough, water, lilacs and blood coming his way. Silently, Naruto leapt into the tree and hid behind one of the branches as the person kept heading in his direction, making sure to cover up where he had been sitting not too long ago, as it was obvious someone had been if the dent in the grass was any indication – being a missing-nin made one paranoid to a fault.

As soon as Naruto caught a glimpse of the person who arrived wearing a pink kimono and having long brown hair, he had to stifle a gasp of amazement, the person was beautiful beyond compare, the most beautiful creature he had ever seen and taking a whiff of their scent, he almost face vaulted when he realized one key factor…this beautiful person was a damn boy. The thought almost made him chuckle, either the boy was a transvestite or he like confusing people with his looks and state of dress, either way, it was amusing.

Naruto watched silently as the boy began to pick some herbs from the small field of flowers nearby and frowned. The particular herbs he was selecting were needed in a wide array of different healing ointments and potions, such as chakra restorative potions, wound potions and muscle relaxants. That and the smell of blood made Naruto suspicious. When he observed the boy more closely, he also noticed that he carried himself very carefully, with every movement being precise and efficient, never exerting too much to make every move, doing the bare minimum, like an experienced shinobi.

Then he remembered the reports his clones had given him on various conversations the Konoha shinobi had and what villagers had reported. Gato had two shinobi in his employ, one was Momochi Zabuza and the other was a mysterious hunter-nin with long brown hair that always wore a mask, as hunter-nins do. The description definitely fit the boy who also had long brown hair, was picking herbs for healing ointments most likely to heal Zabuza after his defeat, carried himself like an experienced shinobi and was disguised like a civilian girl, no one would suspect her and he almost didn't either.

Naruto then realized that for these shinobi to do their job, they would have to have a hiding place away from hunter-nin for a prolonged period of time so they wouldn't have to fight two battles at once, this lead him to believe that they were most likely staying in Gato's base of operations. Given that, Naruto made sure to memorize his scent so that he could track it later to the base – he may be able to keep hidden now but that was because he was not moving at all and thus was able to suppress his chakra to a point that one would need to be extremely talented in the field to detect him.

After he finished picking his herbs, the boy left without even looking back. After several minutes in which Naruto was unable to hear him anymore, he jumped out of the tree and made sure to check which herbs the boy picked before referring to his scrolls to find out what healing ointments he planned on making for his partner. Neither he nor Sasori ­

were particularly fond of healing, but they were of poisons and one needed to know how to cure poisons if they chose to make them, also, when using herbs to make poisons, you should learn what else they could be used for.

Before setting to work, Naruto made sure to firmly implant in his mind that boy's scent so he could track him tomorrow morning back to the entrance of the base and waiting for them to come to him instead of him rushing in.

The next morning, Naruto was quick to remember that boy's scent and followed it through the forest. He passed many slashed trees, minor camping sights and blood stains which gave him a bad feeling, but he continued on his way where the scent led him until he noticed that led off in another direction once he reached a cave opening.

Naruto frowned when he realized this; he doubted that the shinobi could tell he was there yesterday so he surmised that he must be off with Zabuza somewhere. It then clicked in his mind – the reason for the healing balms yesterday, the late time in which he was picking the herbs, they intended to attack the bridge builder today and that was where they must have been. Dismissing this for now and sneaking into the cave using a jutsu that made him invisible and hid his scent (Meisaigakure no Jutsu) Naruto made quick work of any mercenary he came across by slitting their throats using his wind chakra to make a wind blade – that way they wouldn't make a noise when he killed them.

Naruto continued further and further into the cave past numerous doors, turning off lights as he continued on his path of destruction so he would be the only one that could see in the dark. Naruto had a bad feeling though when he could smell something like sweat and semen deeper in the tunnels – coming from a criminal base, that is never a good sign. Further investigation had him hearing grunts and moans as well as the sound of a crying woman. Putting two and two together, Naruto barely was able to reign in his killing intent at that moment before a vicious idea came to him as he snuck into the room in which the taping was occurring only to pause in his stride when he noticed three men having their way with someone who resembled the bridge builder's daughter. She looked to have been beaten before they began to have their way with her while one was forcing his member down her mouth and the other two were penetrating her both rectally and normally. Looking to the other side of the room, he spotted a dozen more naked men pleasuring themselves, most likely getting ready to have their turn after these three were done. The three men with the woman were jeering and groping her inappropriately while the other men in the room took a pleasure in seeing these three men violate a defenseless woman so badly. Also, by the sheen of sweat and the amount of liquids beneath the orgy, this had been going on for quite some time.

Deciding to give these men the worst pain possible, he decided to use a Genjutsu he had created for men such as this filth.

"You know…" he began, immediately getting the attention of everyone in the room as he dropped his stealth jutsu allowing everyone to see a shinobi with the upper part of his face being covered in a shadow created by a straw hat and his body covered by a long dark grey cloak with a high open collar, allowing them to see the lower part of his face which revealed a chiseled jaw line that was set in a neutral and emotionless line.

Realizing that he had every bandit looking at him, including the woman who seemed to be relieved, or as relieved as someone could look while still being penetrated in three orifices, he used a chakra string to discreetly move her head away so that she wouldn't be caught in his Genjutsu by looking into his eyes.

Naruto then lifted the rim of his hat allowing the shadow that was covering his eyes to be lifted so that every bandit in the room had a clear view of his crimson slitted eyes that were glowing eerily in the dark as Naruto pushed chakra through them.

"…the second you decided to defile this poor woman in such a way, you signed your death warrants" he finished in an emotionless voice, sending a shiver down all of the men's spines at hearing it. Being as stupid as they were though and completely unversed in the shinobi ways, they looked directly into his eyes, as if hypnotized to do so – that was their first and last mistake.

Through his eyes, Naruto cast his Genjutsu that connected with anyone who was making eye contact with him. Immediately, to the bandit's, it seemed that the cloaked figure vanished into the shadows before a 50 story reddish orange furred Kitsune took its place with nine humongous swishing tails behind it. The room they were currently in, as well as their other comrades and source of 'pleasure' having disappeared from their sight leaving each man with only themselves and the frightening sight of a humongous, smirking, and delighted Kyuubi no Kitsune.

Tsunami, the daughter of the bridge builder who was resigned to her fate not long ago with being beaten, raped before most likely used in some other way by the evil Gato was treated to the sight of every man in the room dropping to the floor and screaming so loud and with so much pain that some of them destroyed their voice boxes and couldn't scream any more. Some were trying to claw at their own faces while others had their bodies' spasm as whatever her savior did was running it source.

The mysterious force that was forcing her to look away from her savior's eyes vanished, allowing her to look upon her savior that had his straw hat hanging loosely in his left hand revealing his face that was set in stone, watching the men scream their throats hoarse from whatever he had done to them. His crimson eyes that would most likely send ­

some screaming at the sight of them were oddly comforting and suiting to his features when not focused on her, also, his long blond hair seemed to be tied in a short pony tail while his bangs were being kept away from his face by a forehead protector similar to the one's her father had hired to protect him except it had a slash going through it. If she was honest with herself, the boy who couldn't be older then fifteen was indeed handsome in an animalistic sort of way.

Once Naruto was sure they had suffered the most possible amount from his Demonic Genjutsu, he pulled them all together in the middle of the room using chakra strings, also removing the three from the scared and beaten up woman and tied them together in the middle of the room. He then took out a single kunai from within his cloak that seemed to drop into his hand from somewhere within and slashed each of the men once with said kunai.

Naruto, seeing Tsunami's confusion at his actions decided to elaborate for the distraught woman, thinking that knowing her tormentors will be suffering even more would ease her some "I have injected them all with an acidic type of venom with my kunai that will travel all through their veins and burn through them, causing massive internal hemorrhaging, should that not kill them, the acidic venom will spread to other organs within their body and make them melt similar to their veins, simply, it will be a most excruciating death for all of them…are you okay?"

Startled by the viciousness of the death this boy was handing out to her tormenters – not that she minded any – and how easily he could change the topic and talk about it, all she could do was slowly shake her head before breaking down into tears again as the memory of what happened earlier washed over her again.

Naruto sighed and approached her slowly, making sure not to touch her as he didn't know if that would make matters worse "What's your name?" he asked gently.

Tsunami stopped sobbing for a moment, still naked as the day she was born with numerous bruises, cuts, lashes and open wounds spread all over her body.

"T-Tsunami…" she answered quietly.

"Tsunami-san" he replied gently "I am going to do my best to heal your wounds for now, it will require me to heal you in some places that may make you feel uncomfortable, is that ok?"

Only using a few seconds to ponder, she nodded her head in the positive slowly as Naruto lay her down on her back and placed a hand a few inches above her skin. The only medical jutsu he knew was the Shosen no Jutsu. Activating the jutsu over her body, she watched with awe as a green light shone from his hands and went into her body. As the technique he was using was traveling all over her body, traversing over cuts, bruises and broken bones, she marveled at how they seemed to heal before her eyes. Some of the more serious breaks, she noticed, didn't heal, but all the bruises and cuts closed or disappeared while small breaks to her fingers and wrists were healed. When the ninja began to heal the bruising in her nether regions, she did feel slightly uncomfortable as she started to get a warm and tingly sensation down there – not that it wasn't a pleasant feeling, but it was unwelcome nonetheless. She allowed it to happen though as she felt the bruises disappearing down there also.

After Naruto was done with healing her, he removed his coat to reveal his tight and toned body that was covered with a brown muscle shirt with a long sleeved black mesh ninja shirt underneath that had the left sleeve shortened allowing for an elaborate tattoo with the kanji for 'one', 'two' and 'three' to show. His loose black ninja pants were covered in blood where the cloak was not protecting them from it, most likely as he made his way into this room as she noticed the cloak she was wrapped around in was covered in blood. The only other distinguishing feature she noticed of the boy was that he had a silver hoop hearing in each ear and three whisker marks on each cheek just above his defined jaw line – she marveled at how young this boy must be, no older then the shinobi that came to assist her father no doubt.

"Tsunami-san, I suggest you remain close behind me for my purpose for coming to this location has not yet been fulfilled" he explained, in a voice that still showed gentleness and that he didn't mean harm, yet it didn't hold much emotion either.

Tsunami only nodded as she got up and followed Naruto out the door, wincing in pain as she felt her broken rips causing her pain whenever she tried to breathe and also at the sound of more desperate screams coming from her tormenters as the poison spread.

Naruto continued to delve deeper and deeper into the hideout, passing numerous groups of guards that he disposed of easily enough by using a Genjutsu to put them to sleep as he passed them – he didn't kill them mainly because he didn't want to waste any effort in doing so and besides, every 30 feet, he stuck a powerful explosive seal on the wall closest to him, to be activated once he left the base. Each seal was connected with a fine chakra string and when he followed the seals back out, he would only have to send a pulse down the singe long string that would cause a domino effect with each explosive note it was connected to. That would also, coincidently deal with the bandits he left asleep.

Eventually, Tsunami and Naruto found an office that had a large safe hidden behind a portrait of who he recognized as Gato himself. Opening the safe by blowing off the locking mechanism he looked inside to find the largest amount of money he had ever seen. The man really did bleed this country dry, a country that was economically booming before he arrived. There had to be at least one hundred billion yen in here, 75 of which he intended to return back to the ­

country along with the deeds to the docks Gato illegally owned while he kept that last twenty five billion yen for himself.

Tsunami's eyes widened in shock at the money she saw in the vault and wondered what her savior was going to do with the money that obviously came from her people's hard labor.

Naruto, sensing her confusion answered for her "Tsunami-san, seventy five percent of this money will be returned to the feudal lord of wave country based on some stipulations along with the deeds, do not worry – of course, I will take the last twenty give percent as payment, I did do all of the work after all"

Tsunami was going to cry again, but this time because of happiness – sure, he was taking an almost ridiculous amount for himself, but the amount he would be giving back coupled with the bridge her father was building would make wave a wonderful place to live again. Unable to contain her emotions of gratitude and happiness anymore, she rushed Naruto, ignoring the pain in her bones and grabbed him in a hug while sobbing uncontrollably, muttering words of thanks over and over.

Naruto just awkwardly pet her on the head, not knowing what else to do as he planted another explosive note before they left the underground passage and into the sunlight again. Naruto then made a hand seal and sent chakra through his massive chakra string that set off all of his explosive notes within the building.

Tsunami had to cover her ears and at the same time cling onto Naruto as she felt the earth rumble from such a massive explosion occurring underground.

"Tsunami-san, the feudal lord of wave, who is it?" he asked, only then realizing he didn't have a clue who they were.

Tsunami frowned in thought before answering truthfully "I'm not sure, as Gato took more control over this country, the original feudal lord fled the country as they had lost their control…"

Naruto nodded and handed her the larger briefcase of money as well as the deeds to all of the properties, making her eyes widen in shock. Without another warning, Naruto grabbed her and used Shunshin to disappear in a swirl of wind and appear outside her house only to see a boy lying on the ground sobbing.

"Kaasan?" he asked, through tears, trying to recognize his mother in the foreign piece of clothing after she was taken not a few hours ago.

Tsunami tried her hardest to hold back her tears but seeing her son alive and unharmed after she was sure she was going to die was too much and she collapsed on the ground and collected him in a hug.

Naruto then cleared his throat to get their attention, which he did "That money I gave you, along with the deeds is to go to your father who cane take the position as mayor or feudal lord or whatever he wants when Gato is gone" he began "you most likely will not see me for a while so when you see your father again, tell him all I want is the right to receive missions from wave in the future exclusively should I request them, farewell" he finished, disappearing in a swirl of wind, leaving the two individuals gaping.

"Kaasan…who was that?" Inari asked, still clinging to his mother as if had he let go, she would disappear.

"That, Inari, is the boy who will rescue us from Gato and who saved your Kaasan today…" he finished, breaking into a fresh wave of tears when she remembered what humiliation she was forced to live through not long ago, though a small smile graced her features when she remembered how they met their end.

'_It was brutal…but they deserved no less'_

Naruto arrived at the still incomplete bridge that had the signs of a battle. There was a dome of ice mirrors surrounding the Uchiha and Hyuuga whom both looked like pin cushions with Senbon needles seemingly made of ice sticking out of them. From the ice mirrors, Naruto could make out blurs of movement as someone was zinging back and forth between them as they attacked, most likely the boy from yesterday. He had heard of a bloodline that allowed for extreme manipulation of water, to the degree that they could freeze it to make ice or heat it up to make mist, he must be from that bloodline.

Further away was Kakashi fighting Momochi Zabuza and Zabuza seemed to be held down by a bunch of dogs summons sticking out of the ground while Kakashi readied his jutsu from afar, ready to strike. Seeing Kakashi charge a powerful jutsu with electricity coming out of his hand, Naruto realized he was going for the kill. It seemed that the boy in the mirrors stopped attacking as well, as if sensing his comrade was in trouble.

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Before Naruto could do anything, an ice mirror appeared in front of Zabuza as the boy stepped out and intercepted the attack by taking it through the lung, stopping it from killing Zabuza. Immediately, the ice mirrors disappeared and the ice Senbon in the two human pin cushions dissolved into water.

Staring in shock at the scene, he then narrowed his eyes as he paid attention to what was going on with his highly sensitive hearing.

"Good tool Haku, you proved to be useful after all" he finished with a vicious smirk before tossing him aside like a broken kunai and continued to fight with Kakashi.

From then on though, it seemed as if it was a one sided fight, Kakashi cut the tendons in both of Zabuza's arms, causing him to drop his sword and render him pretty much useless.

Naruto then sniffed the air and smelt a mixture of alcohol, blood, metal and sweat on the other side of the bridge as well as hearing a lot of footsteps, like an army was approaching.

'_No wonder his base was virtually empty, he planned on killing Zabuza even if he succeeded'_ he surmised, realizing Gato must have brought the majority of his mercenaries with him here to finish off the missing-nin.

Naruto then focused chakra to every part of his body and used Shunshin to disappear and reappear behind a pillar, still out of everyone's sight, but close enough to begin his attack when he wanted to, and then with a grin, he unsealed one of his favorite puppets from the scroll, Tenshi, not wanting to use his human puppets unless absolutely necessary.

"Well, well, what do we have here Zabuza? And you call yourself a demon?!" Gato announced imperiously with his army of thugs behind him.

"What are you doing here Gato?! I have this handled!" Zabuza shouted back.

"Handled? Hah, that Konoha shinobi is about to kill you…" Gato explained with a smirk while kicking the body of Haku who still seemed to be breathing, if not very labored "I never even intended to pay you or your boy-toy from the start Zabu-chan, so it really doesn't matter" he taunted, infuriating Zabuza.

"You…YOU BASTARD!" yelled Zabuza, before ripping out one of the Kunai Kakashi had thrown at him that was still stuck in his arm with his mouth and charged at Gato with incredible speed, yet it was all for naught.

"Kill him" ordered Gato to his thugs. The thugs hesitated for a bit, under Zabuza's unreal killing intent, but they got their wits back and cut him down, but not after Zabuza had taken down at least twenty of the moronic mercenaries while on his way to Gato.

"Heh, Demon indeed, well now that that's over" he began with a cruel smirk "surrender your life Tazuna-san, I have your daughter at my base where my men are using her as…entertainment" he commented with a cruel smirk. Tazuna's face paled in shock and sadness then it changed to one of absolute fury when the implications sank in.

"YOU SON OF A FUCKING BASTARD! I'M GONNA KILL YOU IF THERE IS ONE HAIR ON HER HEAD HARMED!!" Tazuna yelled with fury, having picked up a loose plan with a large nail in it and charging Gato. He suddenly stopped however when something from up above blocked out the sun briefly and cast a shadow on the bridge. By now, everyone's attention was drawn to it but because of its positioning in front of the sun, no one could make out what it was. From the looks of the shadow though, it had six feathery wings, a small torso and a large waving tail.

The thugs started to get unnerved at the sight and Kakashi unveiled his Sharingan to see chakra strings attached to the figure leading to a pillar close by, but he couldn't do much in his situation, he was already worn out from his fight with Zabuza and was already worried about what he could do against such numbers of bandits.

'_I hope this isn't anything bad…'_

Then a polite and emotionless voice that seemed to be coming from everywhere yet nowhere sounded out across the bridge.

"Gato-san" it began, sending chills down said businessman's spine "your empire has already been destroyed, your entire fortune pilfered and your base destroyed. You no longer have a hostage and she is safe" he began, much to the relief of Tazuna "however, for your actions against her and the populace of Wave country…your punishment is death"

Before Gato, his thugs or Kakashi could react, the figure that was once obscured by the sun moved quickly to a position in front of the army of thugs with their leader and spread its wings wide, with the 'feathers' of the wings all pointed towards the mass of thugs, then, the chest piece opened up to reveal a small cannon.

­

"N-now wait a minute" interrupted a terrified Gato who wasn't sure if he should believe his fortune had been stolen from him "I can pay you whatever…" he never got to finish though as Tenshi immediately leapt into action.

From each feather of the six wings, several hundred Senbon needles were shot out in a cone fashion towards the bandits from each feather, hitting most of them while small balls with explosive notes on them were shot out of the chest cannon at groups of thugs. The waves of Senbon being shot were so plentiful that they cast a shadow that momentarily blocked the sun like a blanket. From each arm, a powerful flame that rivaled a high level Katon jutsu was being shot out, herding the bandits in a way so that they would be hit by the Senbon needles. In the midst of this relentless assault, Gato was hiding behind his thugs and trying to escape with his life, Naruto would have none of that though.

After all the Senbon and grenades were spent, Tenshi flew over to the retreating form of Gato and with a swing of its massive tail, the puppet eviscerated Gato by swinging its tail upwards from beneath Gato's legs – the man died painfully.

By now, Kakashi who had just recently awoken Hanabi and Sasuke who were only knocked out by the Senbon their enemy was using, Sakura and Tazuna looked on in awe and shock at the mass scene of destruction. They were so transfixed by the scene that they missed a blur of brown use Shunshin to collect the corpse of one of their enemies and just as quickly vanish.

Naruto appeared on the other side of the bridge with a heavily bleeding boy in his arms and hurried to get away as quickly as possible so he could try and treat the wound before he died – it would be a shame for someone so powerful to die so needlessly of course.

Naruto leaned against a tree as the boy he saved earlier sat next to the bonfire recovering. It had taken nearly all of his chakra reserves to regenerate the cells in the boy's lungs before closing the hole in his chest with the Shosen no Jutsu. He was no medic-nin, there were obviously better ways to heal such injuries, it was just thanks to his massive reserves that he could keep it up for so long for it to have an effect.

With a few blood replenishing pills and the right application of healing chakra, the healing took nearly two hours of constant application of Shosen for it to heal him enough so his body could do the rest. After making him take a soldier pill and taking one himself, he fell into a light sleep against the tree, waiting for the boy to awaken from his slumber.

Tsunami had just finished putting her son to bed after the traumatic experience they both had been through when she heard a loud crash coming from down stairs. She let out a shriek, fearing the worst.

"Tsunami! Where are you?!" yelled the distraught voice of her father and she immediately let out a sigh of relief. Hearing her scream though, he immediately found her upstairs with the large grey cloak her savior gave him and nothing else with puffy red eyes showing that she had been crying heavily.

"Tousan…" she was able to get out before breaking out in sobs again in her father's chest.

"Shh…Tsunami-chan, I'm here, it's okay" Tazuna muttered in her ear, giving her assurances.

"What happened Tsunami-chan? Can you tell me?" he asked, oblivious to their audience of Konoha shinobi just a few meters away, also wanting to know the same thing.

Tsunami then began to retell her nightmarish experience, breaking down in fresh uncontrollable sobs when she had to explain how those men raped her over and over. Tazuna, too, was now crying with fury and sadness for his daughter's pain while they all sat downstairs at the dinner table as she retold her story.

"But…" she began, through sobs "as they were doing…_it_" she said the last part in a whisper, as if trying to forget it "someone stopped them…he wore this cloak and a straw hat…he…he just looked at them with glowing red slitted eyes…he didn't sound angry…but what he did to them…" Kakashi was now interested – he of course recognized the cloak and with Tsunami telling them he was wearing a straw hat, he deduced that it must have been the boy they had seen earlier in the week snooping around.

"What did he do Tsunami-san? And is there anything you can tell us about him? Anything at all will help us…" Kakashi interrupted politely and he was slightly surprised when she glared at him.

"You would try and capture him because he doesn't work for your village? That man is a hero!" she yelled angrily and Kakashi lifted his arms up in self defense.

­

"We merely want information so if this man ever posed a threat to us we would know some things about him, we have a book for people like him who belong to no village so our shinobi can recognize them and flee if need be" he of course left out the detail about hunter nins killing them and taking the bounty, but she didn't need to know that.

"Oh…I guess that's all right then…well, after interrupting…_them_" she said, viscously when referring to her rapists "he lifted the brim of his hat a bit, but then my head turned away somehow…I think he did it…because whoever looked into his eyes started to scream really loudly and began clawing at their own faces…it looked like they were under some kind of illusion because he didn't _do_ anything to them…" she explained and all shinobi in the room frowned and thought the same thing 'Genjutsu'.

"Eventually, the force making my head looked away vanished and I saw his eyes…they were red…" she didn't get to continue because Sasuke leapt up from the table with a crazed look in his eyes.

"Red?! What do you mean red? What exactly did they look like?! Did he look like me?! Did he have three black tomoe in each eye with red surrounding it?! TELL ME!" he shouted and Kakashi restrained him.

"I'm sorry Tsunami-san" he apologized to the shocked Tsunami and the furious Tazuna "What you just told us is an eerily familiar description of a criminal from our village, Sasuke-kun's brother" Sakura looked at her sensei with confusion at hearing this, but Hanabi already knew of the Uchiha massacre that occurred all those years ago where Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke's brother, killed every single Uchiha before leaving his brother alive and fleeing the village.

"Oh…I don't see why he got so worked up…he looked nothing like you when he removed his hat…" she said with a frown, which did not placate Sasuke though.

"You said he had red eyes, did they look like this a little?" he asked, activating his sharingan which made his onyx eyes turn red with two tomoe seals around one pupil and one around the other.

"No, sorry Uchiha-san, but his eyes were red, but they were red with a black slitted pupil…" she explained. Kakashi closed his eyes as a chill crept up his spine, oh he remembered eyes like that, fourteen years ago on that fateful night when the Kyuubi no Kitsune rampaged through their village. His eyes opened wide with shock then and looked at Tsunami again.

"Tsunami-san, can you tell us anything else about his physical appearance?" he asked pleadingly.

Tsunami nodded and scrunched her face up in thought before answering "Well, he had tanned skin, long golden blonde hair in a short pony tail, three thin tattoo like whisker marks on each cheek…his hair was kept out of his face with a headband like yours" she said, pointing to Kakashi's forehead protector "but it had a slash going through it…he also had a strange tattoo on his left forearm…it was kanji for 'one', 'two' and 'three'…there were other symbols on it but I couldn't recognize them…"

When she was done explaining, the genin were all looking at their sensei with confusion as he showed the most emotion he had ever before. His single visible eye was wide in shock and he had already unconsciously relinquished his hold on Sasuke, not that it mattered though because now that he was sure that it wasn't Itachi he had calmed down.

"Uzumaki…Naruto" was all Kakashi said, confusing everyone in the room.

Naruto awoke suddenly from his light slumber when he heard coughing nearby. Opening his eyes, instantly, he saw that the boy was waking up. Naruto just sat back against the tree, not appearing to be threatening at all as he gained his bearings.

"You're awake" Naruto stated, no question in the statement at all.

The boy's head snapped in his direction and looked at him with confusion. Naruto had replaced his grey cloak with another one he kept sealed away in his 'clothing' scroll. His hat was still shadowing his eyes while he looked at the boy curiously.

"Who are you? Where am I? How did I get here? Where is Zabuza-sama?" he asked all at once, but he stopped when Naruto raised his hand to silence him and halt his questions.

"My name is unimportant for now" he began, answering the boy's questions "you are in a forest not far from the east coast of fire country" he continued "I brought you here after you took a fatal wound to the chest from Hatake-san's jutsu" he explained, as he saw the boy's eyes widen in shock "Momochi Zabuza was killed when Gato arrived on the bridge to kill him, it would seem he never intended to pay you at all" he finished, answering all his questions.

­

"Zabuza-sama is dead?" the boy asked, sounding distraught "I no longer have a reason to exist…" he continued, reaching for something under his baggy haori which made Naruto put up his guard. When the boy pulled out a Senbon needle and turned it on himself, as if to kill himself, Naruto didn't waste a second, he used Shunshin to appear beside him immediately and grab his arm.

"What are you going?!" the boy snarled at Naruto, but the question died in his throat when he saw a pair of glowing red eyes in the shadows of the straw hat the stranger was wearing.

"I most certainly did not waste my chakra to heal you if you are going to kill yourself" he began in a calm voice. Naruto then let go of his arm and sat back down, not before removing all weapons from his person.

"What is your name?" Naruto asked, trying to make conversation as he reached into his pouch, making the boy tense. The boy nearly face vaulted though when Naruto pulled out two stick of vanilla pocky and handed one to him.

"Uh…thanks?" replied the boy, as Naruto nodded, as if he had done the greatest service in the world by handing him one of his own sticks of pocky to the feminine boy.

"My name is Haku…" explained the boy, who took a bite of the stick, not really liking it, but seeing how his company seemed to enjoy it so much, he thought better then to insult the sweet.

"Uzumaki Naruto" answered the boy before taking another bite of his sweet and continuing "How did you escape Haku?" Naruto asked, confusing Haku.

"The bloodline purges of Kiri, how did you escape?" Naruto asked, never losing the calm tone of voice, as if he had limitless patience.

"Um…" began Haku, not sure if he should tell a complete stranger about his past, but seeing as his purpose for existing was gone, he saw no point for secrecy any more.

"Well…I lived in a snowy village in the land of water until…my father realized my mother and I had a bloodline limit that allows us to have master control over water and manipulate it with our chakra to make ice…when he realized my mother and I had it…he rallied a mob from the village to come and murder her…after murdering her…" he explained, a silent tear sliding down his face "they turned on me…but I panicked and my bloodline limit protected me by creating several hundred ice needles and killing them first…" he explained, as Naruto listened while chewing on this eighth pocky stick silently, only the crunches from each chew audible.

"After that…I wandered around the land of water as a beggar until Zabuza-sama found me…" he explained with a smile "he accepted me and gave me a purpose as his tool, he trained me and I became a hunter nin for Kirigakure before we escaped after a failed coup de tat" he explained.

Naruto nodded before answering "You're an idiot" he said simply, shocking and angering Haku slightly.

"Only you can give yourself a purpose in life, to rely on someone to give you a purpose is a waste of life" he continued, oblivious to Haku's anger.

"I grew up in Konohagakure no Sato where I was hated, beaten and abused because of something I had no control over – we are similar like that" he explained, which made Haku's anger disappear suddenly as he listened.

"I was hated because fourteen years ago, when the Kyuubi no Kitsune attacked Konoha, it was sealed into my body by the fourth Hokage who had no other choice if he wanted to defeat it. The jutsu he used claimed his life which only seemed to further the hate the villages had for me, adding to that of a scapegoat to release their frustrations over that night for" he continued, oblivious to Haku's eyes widening.

"People like me are called Jinchuuriki, power of human sacrifice, how…appropriate" Haku was now listening intently as Naruto talked.

Naruto then proceeded to tell him about how Sasori saved him and trained him to be a shinobi. About how there was an organization of S-class criminals after him and how he intended to avenge his sensei.

"To live life as a tool is not living" he began "I saw how you seem to have knowledge of healing and medical jutsu from what I saw in the forest where you were picking medicinal herbs" Naruto explained, shocking Haku at how he wasn't able to detect the boy spying on him.

"I have…acquired…some scrolls on medical ninjutsu from various villages and I could use someone who is versed in medical ninjutsu traveling with me, I could let you learn off those scrolls if you like, along with various ninjutsu you may not know" he explained "besides, there is strength in numbers" he finished, with a small smile.

­

Haku sat shocked for a moment before smiling and bowing before Naruto "I thank you for saving my life and I will work my hardest to be useful to you" he began but stopped when Naruto lifted him up by the front of his shirt and slammed him against a tree, glaring at him with glowing crimson eyes. Haku winced in pain as his wounds had not totally healed yet.

Naruto looked into his eyes before speaking "To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment" he began, making Haku's eyes go wide in shock "My sensei taught me that".

Naruto then dropped Haku, releasing him so he could lean against the tree as he turned his back to Haku.

"Tools...are weak, they are useless unless wielded...I have no use for a tool...I do have use for a companion, that is something you can be and I am more then willing to have" he said quietly, yet perfectly loud enough for Haku to hear. Turning his head slightly and grinning at Haku, who smiled a true smile and nodded before taking a kunai Naruto handed him and slashing his Kiri forehead protector.

"Who the hell is Uzumaki Naruto?" asked Sasuke, wanting to know what his sensei was on about.

"He used to be a civilian of Konoha" Kakashi began, clearing his head "he was supposed to have been killed almost a decade ago on the night of the Kyuubi festival…" Kakashi said, lost in his own thoughts.

"Oh Tousan" Tsunami called to Tazuna, with a happy look on her face, completely baffling Tazuna, for what possible reason would she be happy?

"This Uzumaki Naruto told me to give you this" she said, going into another room to bring out 10 large briefcases seemingly filled with cash and some sort of portfolio.

Tazuna grabbed the portfolio with a frown and after reading it for several minutes gasped in shock.

"What is it Tazuna-san?" asked Hanabi, interested in what he was reading and what this mysterious missing-nin had done.

"These…are the deeds for all the shipping companies and dock properties that were owned by Gato for importing and exporting…all of them" Tazuna said in shock.

Tsunami grinned "Yep, and in those briefcases is approximately seventy five billion yen, the other twenty five was taken by him though, but that's plenty to bring this country back to economic prosperity, ne?"

Tazuna spit out the sake he was drinking after having read the document sand looked to his daughter with tears in his eyes "Are you serious?"

Tsunami nodded and before she could respond, Tazuna collected her in a hug, laughing and crying in happiness. It seemed that wave would be alright after all.

Team seven remained in wave until the completion of the bridge, where upon it was named the 'The Great Naruto Bridge' in thanks to the mysterious shinobi that gave them their country back – something Sasuke wasn't all too happy about. After completing the mission and getting the money compensation from Tazuna with a large tip, they headed back to Konoha.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Konoha's Chunin exams

Chapter 6: Konoha's Chunin exams

It had been roughly three months since the fiasco in the Land of Waves and since he had met Haku, things have been…different for Naruto since then.

Haku immediately, once realizing they would be traveling together, wanted to get to know each other better, so they knew each others skills and weaknesses. Naruto had informed him that he wasn't really bad at anything but he preferred using Genjutsu, his puppets, which Naruto showed him (except for his human puppets) and Fuuinjutsu. He had also told the boy that though some may call it unhealthy, he had a fierce Pocky addiction, to the point where he would constantly carry hundreds of boxes of the delicacy on him at all times. If Haku found that weird, he never said anything.

Haku had told him that he preferred medical jutsu and elemental ninjutsu – obviously with his bloodline limit. After giving a demonstration of all of the Hyoton and Suiton jutsu he knew, Naruto began to teach him some of the more advanced Suiton and Futon jutsu he knew. Naruto knew a fair bit of elemental ninjutsu, he just preferred not to use it though as it consumed much too much chakra, thus not allowing him to use the chakra for better purposes, like augmenting his movements.

Haku absorbed all the ninjutsu Naruto had to teach him, as well as the ones from scrolls he had stolen from Kiri, Kumo and Suna which held Suiton, Raiton and Futon jutsu respectively. Haku found that he didn't have much talent for Doton and Katon jutsu as opposed to the other three elements, which was fine. What Haku really excelled at though was medical jutsu and he had nearly began to do back flips when he had shown him the medical scrolls and journals he had acquired from Konoha that were written by the legendary healer Tsunade herself. Naruto was relieved that he had taken an interest in that branch of jutsu, for a healer was always a welcome addition to the team.

Naruto also never stopped training his stamina as he had to keep the physical aspect of his chakra balanced with the spiritual aspect that is constantly being added to his body thanks to the Kyuubi – he wasn't complaining though, it added incentive to constantly train.

Now though, Naruto happened on Haku who took to poisoning different animals, only to heal them with a poison removing technique he had learned, of course, the poisons were supplied by yours truly, giving him more experience with the removal of all types of poisons – there weren't many people who knew as much about poisons as him.

Naruto watched silently as Haku healed their dinner while munching on a stick of strawberry pocky. After 10 minutes of constant bubbles of green chakra removing black liquids from within the animal Haku stopped only to watch with a smile as the dear he was healing got up, licking him on the nose and ran off into the woods. Naruto wondered if the dear would have been so grateful if it realized Haku was the one to poison it in the first place.

"It seems you are quite proficient with that jutsu Haku-chan" commented Naruto, much to the annoyance of Haku.

"Would you please refrain from adding 'chan' to my name, I am a boy" he replied, with a frown, causing Naruto to shrug.

"Then perhaps you should stop dressing like a girl?"

It seemed Haku did not appreciate that one bit and was about to show Naruto why he was so proficient with using Senbon when Naruto interrupted the agitated boy.

"Our next destination is Konoha" he said simply.

"Konoha?" Haku asked with confusion, knowing that was where Naruto was from "Why?"

"I have received intelligence that the newly developed village Otogakure has formed a secret alliance with Sunagakure and intend to invade at some point during the chunin exams" Naruto answered. Haku was shocked at how his partner always seemed to be privy to such information that no one else would be able to happen upon. Whenever he asked how he could always come upon such information, Naruto always answered by saying that 'Fuuinjutsu was a powerful branch of ninjutsu'.

"Not that I mind, but how is that of any concern to us? I would imagine you have cut all ties to that village?" Haku asked, still confused.

Naruto while walking away to their campsite paused long enough to give a piece of information that answered all of Haku's questions "Orochimaru is the Otokage".

Orochimaru. When Naruto had first told him that his main goal for now was to kill the Snake sannin because he was the one to kill his sensei, Haku disapproved, telling him that seeking revenge would not make him happy, Naruto had responded by telling him that it had nothing to do with revenge, more about his sensei's dying wish.

­

"Who knows, Haku-chan? Perhaps you can find the man of your dreams once we arrive and take in the sights, ne?" he finished before leaving the clearing, loud enough for Haku to hear. One thing Haku could do without was Naruto's weird if a little sarcastic sense of humor.

"I'M NOT GAY NARUTO!" Haku yelled back, knowing it was futile. Haku would never know how the blonde shinobi could aggravate him so easily when he was always so calm and polite!

Hatake Kakashi sighed as he eyed his genin team. It had been a few months since the mission in wave country and as soon as he had arrived back home, he had informed the Hokage about the possibly of Naruto still being alive. This of course forced the aged leader of the village to inform the shinobi and civilian council about him which resulted in Naruto being made an 'S' class missing-nin. He wasn't sure whether to be happy or distraught at that piece of information that they would deem him enough of a threat to be grouped with the likes of Uchiha Itachi and the Snake Sannin Orochimaru, or distraught because hunter-nin from all over the world will be trying to hunt him for the massive bounty on his head – which was on the same level as Uchiha Itachi, yet still less then Orochimaru. It had only taken two weeks for Naruto's profile to be in the Bingo book with no picture supplied seeing as the only people who knew what he looked like were people who had seen him covered with a straw hat.

The reason such a matter affected him so was simply – not long after Naruto's supposed 'death', The Hokage had informed him that Naruto was his old sensei's son, someone who he should have been tasked to looking after. At the time, Kakashi had given him a good piece of his mind and quit ANBU to grieve, which the Hokage didn't dispute at all and only excused his actions by saying that it was his father's wish for no one but the Hokage to know his heritage.

Now though, he had another problem to deal with. The council had ordered him to place his team in the Chunin exams so Konoha could flex their proverbial muscles by showing off their 'genius' Uchiha. They didn't much care for the other two members of the team and though he wasn't too worried about Hanabi, the girl being even better at Taijutsu then Sasuke, he was worried about Sakura – no matter how annoying the fan girl shinobi wannabe was.

Arriving at his team meeting place at the bridge near training ground seven three hours late like normal, he was greeted with the sight of a meditating Hanabi, a brooding Sasuke and a fuming Sakura.

"Ohayo Team" he greeted jovially

"YOU'RE LATE!" greeted back the pink haired banshee of the team, honestly, you'd think by now she would expect it and arrive late, or at least enjoy his hard thought out excuses.

"Sorry I'm late, but when I went to the bathroom this morning, I had to wrestle an alligator that popped out of the toilet before I could use it and naturally, it took me the better part of the morning to do" he replied, congratulating himself on coming up with another brilliant – to him – reason for being late.

"LIAR!" she shrieked again, as if it weren't obvious.

"Anyway, I've nominated you three for the Chunin exams" he said, while smiling.

This caught Sasuke's attention after having a little run in with a team from Suna who said they were competing in the tournament. Maybe he could test his strength against the red head one that was leaking killing intent that sent shivers down his spine.

Hanabi just nodded while accepting the entrance form her sensei handed her; her father having already informed her of the possibility earlier that month.

Sakura had paled and while shaking, took the entrance form Kakashi had handed to her. She read about the chunin exams and people could die in them…suddenly being a shinobi became more 'real'.

"If you agree to participate, sign those forms and hand them in at the academy in room 301 by noon tomorrow; Ja ne!"

With a wave, Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke leaving his team to decide whether they want to participate in the chunin exams.

"Are you sure Orochimaru is here?"

"Aa"

"What makes you so sure? You seem to know a lot about his plans…"

­

"His plans are obvious. His goal is to learn every jutsu ever known, and he will attempt to do so by obtaining the Sharingan and gaining immortality"

There was a pause "From what I've read in your scrolls, he is not an Uchiha. How will he get the Sharingan and on that issue, how could he become immortal?"

"He does not possess the Sharingan himself, but he has created a Kinjutsu that will allow him to use his soul to occupy another body. If he does this with an Uchiha, he will have access to the Sharingan"

"He truly is like a snake, shedding his skin whenever it gets old. With a technique like that, you could technically be immortal – the soul never dies" There was another pause "So, he's after the Uchiha I fought in Wave country not a few months ago?"

"Aa"

"Aren't you going to stop him?"

"Orochimaru will place the 'Curse Seal' on the boy; he will not physically take him"

"I've read about your notes on the 'Curse Seal' too, how does this relate though and how do you know so much about it?"

Looking into the large forest they were standing in for a few moments, he spoke "The 'Curse Seal' – once applied – forcibly draws all of the chakra and stamina from one's body to allow the user to use much more of their chakra then they usually would be able to – similar to the effects of releasing the eights celestial gates, thought not as violent. Should the seal be left as is, without being controlled, it will eat away at the target's personality into madness, so, there was a second level created – one that allows the user to control the power"

"I don't understand, how does this relate to why Uchiha-san will not need to be physically taken?"

"Uchiha's are prideful mammals, except for the one traitor ironically enough; he will want to control this new power regardless of the cost. There is only one man who can help him control it"

"He will go to Orochimaru of his own free will so he can use that power, even though there is a way to suppress it"

"Aa"

"So that's why you aren't stopping it, he's doing it of his own free will"

"If he wants to be an idiot, let him be an idiot, I don't care. He is not important" finished Naruto as he heard a scream going through the Forest of death signifying that the Snake Sannin had most likely applied his seal on the last 'loyal' Uchiha.

"Haku, keep an eye out for anyone that might be working with Orochimaru in the forest and destroy any cameras you come across – we must not be seen now that my old _village_ has deemed it prudent to mark me as an 'S' class criminal for having the audacity to survive a brutal attack by their hands"

With a nod signifying he understood, Naruto disappeared using Shunshin only leaving behind a twirling wind in his wake. Haku likewise melted into the branch he was standing on leaving only a puddle of water where he once stood and a broken camera.

Mitarashi Anko was running through the forest of death at top speed where she felt her former sensei's vile chakra. Her subordinates had recently informed her of having found the bodies of three dead Kusa shinobi with their faces melted off – the telltale signs of Orochimaru when he takes the shinobi's face as his own.

Now, she would exact revenge on the man she hated the most in this world. Even if it killed her. She knew she was going to die if she engaged him like this, but as long as he died too, it didn't much matter. She hated Orochimaru with a passion, for betraying the village she loved, for experimenting on innocents right under her nose, her being one of them, for abandoning her when he left the village to turn traitor and most of all, for leaving her behind and spitting in her face.

She was loyal to her sensei who had become a father figure to her regardless of his misgivings but all he did was shun her and leave her to the mercy of Konoha who treated her as they would treat him. A Traitor. She hated him for that and would make him pay – if the villages thought she was guilty of any crime, surely they would change their minds if she used her life to end the one of the true traitor.

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Orochimaru was speeding through the forest of death with a cruel smirk plastered on his pale features. He had infiltrated the Chunin exams and everything had gone to plan. The whole purpose of this 'invasion' was to mark the Uchiha brat as his next body then show him why the village he was currently in was weak – giving him more reasons to want to leave.

If wanting to control the power of his curse seal wasn't enough incentive to want to flee this weak village, then surely when he killed his former sensei, the Sandaime Hokage of Konoha, when security was at its tightest, it would open his eyes.

As Orochimaru continued to mentally congratulate himself on his ingenious plans, he almost failed to notice the trio of Kunai sailing in his direction that would have impacted had his finely tuned senses not heard the 'whistling' sound they made as they traveled through the air. He mentally cursed his inattentiveness that could have gotten him severely injured had his opponent been a little more skilled. He then gracefully landed in the clearing below the branches he was using as a means to travel to meet with his attacker, which only served to amuse him.

"Ah, Anko-chan, what a pleasure to see you of all people here; still a failure like you used to be?" he asked, amusement shining through his eyes though the cruel smirk that many thought was simply the way his lips were shaped was still present on his face.

"Orochimaru" Anko snarled, feeling her anger rising by titanic proportions for every second she was forced to even look at his annoyingly cruel smirk and taunting tone "Today…you die!"

Orochimaru, clearly amused at his former pupil allowing her anger and fury at him get the better of her easily dodged her ballistic kunai stripes.

"Sen'eijashu" Anko hissed, performing several hand seals and from close range, releasing six snakes from the sleeves of her tanned trench coat, three from each sleeve and ensnaring her former sensei, who didn't look surprised in the least, opting to continue to smirk at her and not even try to break out.

Feeling her anger reaching its peak, she performed some more hand seals, finishing on the 'tora' seal "Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu" she announced, before inhaling deeply and blowing out a large breath of fire that ignited the snakes holding her sensei in place, completely incinerating the Snake Sannin that was being kept captive under the snake binds.

Anko's victory however was short lived when she heard clapping coming from behind her. Spinning around quicker then most would be able to track; Anko spotted Orochimaru leaning against the trunk of a tree while watching her, amusement in his eyes.

"You really _are_ a failure, aren't you?" he asked, making Anko see red, but he wasn't done "A mere _genin_" Orochimaru began, making sure she caught the emphasis on the rank "tried that exact same trick on me only moments ago, now I have to put up with jounin, not to mention a previous student of my own, using such petty and _weak_" he emphasized again, knowing how to push her buttons – one of the perks of being Anko's sensei for as long as he was "trick against me? Did you honestly expect it to work?" he finished, with an evil sounding cackle that just sounded downright creepy coming from the mouth of a female Kusa shinobi, Orochimaru really was twisted.

Forcefully calming herself down, else she knew she would make a careless mistake; Anko began the hand seals for a technique she had saved just for this man.

Many may think Orochimaru to be deranged, slightly touched in the head, a regular megalomaniac but one thing he most definitely was not was stupid. The Serpent like man immediately recognized what his ex-student planned on doing when he saw helplessness, resignation and resolve flash through her eyes before she started a very familiar set of seals. She intended to use a Kinjutsu that he had invented! Was the girl stupid? There was no way he would allow for her to finish using the technique that would summon two snakes from her wrists to bite them both, injecting a deadly poison into both of their bodies, he was NOT going to let this girl kill him.

Anko paused in her sealing when she saw her ex-sensei stop smirking and instead frowning at her. That was all the time Orochimaru needed though as quicker then she had expected, the man appeared in front of her and planted a fist in her gut. Hard.

Orochimaru watched on in amusement as Anko collapsed to the ground holding her wounded stomach coughing and wheezing as all the air in her body was forcefully expelled with one strike in that split second she had dropped her guard to use the suicide jutsu on him.

"Kukukuku, you amuse me greatly Anko-chan" he began, the cruel smirk back on his face "did you honestly believe I would allow you to use such a technique on me to begin with? One that I _created_ and _taught_ you? Do you underestimate me so?" Orochimaru asked, enjoying the shame and fury she felt that was clearly visible by her features.

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"However, I think that your usefulness has finally reached its peak and I should finish what I started all those years ago" said the Snake sannin while raiding his right hand in a half seal, activating the curse seal that he himself had placed on Anko before they parted ways.

Anko let out a loud scream of agony as Orochimaru attempted to kill her using the cursed seal. This was it, there was no way she could stop him now. She had known from the start that he could activate it like this and end her but she honestly hoped her would underestimate her long enough for her to do the suicide technique he had taught her. Everything worked to plan save for the fact that he was able to intercept his technique, now though it was too late and she could barely think coherently enough to admonish herself for her foolishness.

Had Orochimaru not been having so much fun seeing his ex-student being tortured the way she was, he probably would have sensed the incoming presence – however, as it were, he was and he did not.

The pain suddenly stopped for Anko and she wondered if she had already died. That theory changed however when she saw Orochimaru leaning against a tree holding his ribs while a stranger stood barely a few meters from her covered in a dark grey cloak and wearing a straw hat. She too, like any other respectable jounin had read through the most recent edition of the Bingo book which described in very much detail as much as it could about all of the known missing-nins in the shinobi nations and having read said book, she recognized who this was immediately – the traits were undeniable. Grey cloak, straw hat and he did look kind of young if his height was any indication of that. This was Uzumaki Naruto, the 'demon brat' of Konoha.

Orochimaru, seeing his attacker glared at him before properly observing him and letting out a sinister chuckle.

"Kukuku, Naruto-kun, come to avenge your late sensei's death?" taunted Orochimaru, having righted himself from the – admittedly – painful blow the brat landed on him.

Anko watched the exchange with interest, irrationally angry at having someone interrupt her while trying to kill Orochimaru and naturally curious about the boy who had the 'gonads' to interrupt Orochimaru, the legendary Snake Sannin from torturing his latest victim.

"Iie" was all he said as Anko felt a shiver run down her spine. The kid sounded _emotionless_; there was no anger, no happiness, no eagerness, no malice, just a simple indifferent answer to a simple question. The kid sounded eerily familiar to another that she once knew and worked with from the Uchiha clan.

"Oh? Not trying to avenge poor, deluded Sasori-kun?" goaded Orochimaru, trying to get this boy too attack him as Anko had, making this much easier on his part. He was not stupid enough to underestimate someone who was trained by someone like Sasori, a known perfectionist.

Anko meanwhile was processing the information she just learned at a mile a minute. Sasori? Uzumaki's sensei was someone named Sasori, that named rang a bell but she just couldn't place it. She decided to just store that piece of information in the back of her mind for later use and see what would happen from this.

"Iie Orochimaru-san" replied Naruto, with just as much emotion as his last reply had, angering the snake sannin slightly. This brat reminded him of someone he would gladly kill if he _could_ from his old organization and suffice to say; he didn't like that brat one bit.

Naruto turned his gaze to Anko, who tried to get a look at his features but they were obscured by a straw hat shadowing his eyes and a high collared cloak that covered the lower half of his face.

"You were foolish Anko-san for allowing the anger to get the best of you" he began, making Orochimaru smirk and Anko seethe "instead of putting up a fight like a respectable jounin would, your skills were reduced to that of a genin simply because you let anger cloud your judgment, thought, admittedly" he continued, oblivious to the death glare Anko was directing at him and the amusement in Orochimaru's eyes "the man is quite…annoying" he finished.

Anko and Orochimaru had their opinions of the situation switched as now it was Anko with humor in her eyes and Orochimaru glaring in his direction with a frown on his face.

"What is your purpose here Naruto-kun?" asked Orochimaru, actually intrigued. He doubted the brat cared at all for Konoha, so he wondered what was motivating him.

"To kill you" he responded, as if it was the simplest question in the world. Inwardly, Naruto was amused at how the Snake sannin's eyebrow twitched, showing that his annoyance was finally getting the better of him. It seemed that he wasn't used to people simply being so apathetic towards him.

"I thought you didn't want revenge for your sensei's death? You lied?" he countered, the brat was really starting to annoy him and once he got the information he desired, he would kill him nice and slowly right after he was done with his old student.

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"Iie, I didn't lie" answered Naruto truthfully, though he hated the man for taking his beloved sensei away from him, he didn't let that hate cloud his judgment or have an impact on his actions. He simply wanted to kill Orochimaru because Sasori asked him to do so; it was the man's dying wish, who was he to deny it? Of course, saying he wouldn't enjoy fulfilling said wish would be another lie, but who cares?

"Not many people would need a particular reason to want to kill you Orochimaru-san, you are not very likable" he said, earning a snicker from Anko which she covered when Orochimaru glared at her.

Wanting to goad the snake sannin further, Naruto proceeded to do something that would always aggravate Haku when the two of them sparred. Retracting his hand from his right sleeve, which did not go unnoticed by the other two shinobi present, Naruto reach up his cloak from within and began to unbutton his cloak from the top down to his chest, revealing the bottom half of his face, which Orochimaru and Anko noted was quite neutral, showing none of the emotions both observers were hoping to see.

Naruto then replaced his arm in his right sleeve and flicked back the lower left half of his cloak, making Orochimaru tense and Anko pay more attention as she continued to sit on the sidelines and observe, not being able to do much else as Orochimaru's 'torture' made her whole body feel weak and screwed wit her control.

As Naruto flicked his cloak to the side, his left thigh became visible which had a kunai holster attached to it. Orochimaru now readied himself for an attack and Anko watched intently, wanting to see what this smart mouthed and annoyingly indifferent brat was planning to do, but neither expected what he did next.

Naruto clicked open the holster and removed…a stick of Pocky – Banana flavored, Anko noted – which he then preceded to place in his mouth and munch. Everything became eerily silent after that, except the sounds of Naruto continuing to munch on the biscuit stick. One munch. Two munches. Three munches. Four munches.

Anko watched with barely veiled amusement as Orochimaru's eyebrow seemed to twitch in tandem with every munching sound that Naruto made after every chew of his Pocky.

Naruto, noticing the anger in Orochimaru's eyes, no matter how much he tried to conceal it went in for the killing blow. Reaching down to his left thigh holster again, he took out another stick while still chewing on the one in his mouth, he expertly flicked it towards Anko as it landed perfectly in the perplexed girl's mouth.

"They're quite good" was all Naruto said, still chewing on his Pocky as Anko stared at him dumfounded. Naruto could tell Orochimaru was getting increasingly angrier so he continued with his course of action. Seeing that Anko hadn't started to chew his most generous gift, he narrowed his eyes and looked at her.

"Anko-san, it would be in your best interest if you eat that stick of Pocky. Eat it and enjoy it. I don't give them away very often" he said, in a deadly voice, yet it was lost on Anko as he used the deadly voice for such a ridiculous request. Slightly perplexed, she took a slow bite and found herself liking the delicacy, it had nothing on Dango, but this 'Pocky' stuff wasn't bad at all.

"Enough of this!" Orochimaru screeched, apparently finally fed up with being ignored. With another burst of speed, Orochimaru launched at Naruto and aimed a punch directly at his face, hoping to crush that accursed sweet and stuff it down his throat, however, as soon as his first was to connect, Naruto's body disintegrated into thousands upon thousands of tiny insects.

Orochimaru gasped in shock at the Kyuubi brat proving that he was able to control bugs similarly to the Aburame clan of Konoha. As the bugs that were once Naruto's body flew around the clearing, making visibility of anything outside the blanket they had created quite difficult, Orochimaru leapt back, not wanting to get caught by those damn chakra sucking bugs.

Orochimaru looked around for any signs of his opponent but found none while randomly throwing kunai in the directions he assumed he heard or sensed the brat. He would defeat this annoyance though like many other Aburame that had tried to cross his path in the past, only to be demolished under his might.

Interrupting his train of thoughts however was a sharp pain to his lower back that sent him stumbling several feet forward. As he spun around, he saw nothing, only those accursed bugs circling him and buzzing in the most infuriatingly annoying way possible. Once again though, his thoughts were interrupted as he felt another sharp pain, similar to a punch, connect with his abdomen, but he was _certain_ no one was there – was this a new jutsu the Aburame had created?

Calming himself, he thought to the one thing that the Aburame could not stop, and that was fire. Going through several hand seals, he announced his jutsu.

"Katon: Housenka no Jutsu" he said, before bringing his hand up to his mouth and breathing out several dozen small fireballs in all directions as he turned in a clockwise direction, making sure to fire them in all directions and incinerating all of the pests. After completing a full circle though, he was shocked to see that his jutsu did have an ­

effect, but not quite what he had expected. Every bug was on fire, but instead of dropping dead like they should, they were still circling him while their bodies were alit, creating an effect not too different from him being surrounded by a sphere of fire. Were these bugs resistant to fire? It would explain a lot, and not to mention the heat of being surrounded by fire in all directions was starting to affect him, if the sweat on his brow was any indication.

Once again, his thoughts were interrupted as he felt three almost simultaneous pains occur at once, one in his ribs, the next in his chest and the last right in his face, sending him flying back into the wall of fire.

Orochimaru quickly performed Kawarimi to switch himself with an earth clone he had created while the brat was chewing on his candy and watched with surprise as the enflamed insects created an opening in the wall of fire for his earth clone to sail through so it impacted with the tree.

Orochimaru frowned when he saw this, but he decided against re-engaging. His opponent showed skills he did not expect to fight against and going into a fight without information was simply foolish, so he did the thing he did best, he escaped while his clone impersonated his body flying into a tree, swearing to kill that boy the next time they met.

Mitarashi Anko was treated to the weirdest and bizarre thing she had ever seen. At first, when Orochimaru made the first move and decided to punch the Uzumaki, he appeared right in front of him only to pause when his fist was inches from his face and look around with confusion. All Naruto had done in response to that was staring at his fist which was inches from his face before disappearing in a swirl of wind – some kind of Shunshin most likely.

Orochimaru had then leapt back and started to look around in all directions, as if looking for something before hurling kunai in random directions, completely off target as Naruto was calmly standing on a branch on the opposite side of the clearing, observing what was going on.

Naruto then used Shunshin to appear behind Orochimaru and punch him in the spine, which confused her as she was sure Orochimaru would have sensed that – he did when she tried that on him when they sued to spar way back when. Instead, Naruto disappeared with Shunshin again as the Snake Sannin whirled around to find nothing.

In a surprising and ridiculous move, Orochimaru did a Housenka, sending the small fireballs that were shot out of his mouth in all directions, barely missing her and scorching the trees surrounding them, yet causing no damage, and he hadn't come close to hitting Naruto once.

It was that move and what Naruto did next that showed her what was really going on. Naruto appeared right in front of the Sannin and hit him three times, lastly in the face, which sent him flying into a tree. It _must_ have been a Genjutsu; there is _no_ other way Orochimaru's senses would be so clouded that he couldn't sense where these strikes were coming from, especially when he seemingly shot his Katon jutsu at _nothing._ Orochimaru was never wasteful of his chakra, and firing Housenka like that was indeed wasteful. What baffled her most though was that she had _never_ seen Naruto cast a Genjutsu, no hand seals at all. Was it when he got the Pocky? Did he use it as a distraction? Even if that were the case though, he would only be able to use one handed seals to cast it then, and a Genjutsu that would fool someone on Orochimaru's level to be done using only one handed seals was absurd at best!

Yet, she could honestly come up with no other explanation, he had put Orochimaru under a Genjutsu and her old sensei was none the wiser! Just who was this kid?!

"Anko-san, I suggest you get your injuries treated" he said, from somewhere above her as Orochimaru's body impacted against the tree and turned to mud "It seems our slithery friend has decided that retreat was his best option and when a snake does not want to be found, it would be quite difficult to find it" he said, before he too left in a gust of wind.

After several moments of silence, Anko struggled to stand; only succeeding with the help the tree provided her. She then replayed the memories of her bizarre encounter with her ex-sensei and 'Uzumaki Naruto' and came to one conclusion. She extremely disliked the brat and next time she saw him, she would plant a kunai so far up his urethra that by the time she was done with him, he will find aiming while urinating to be pretty much impossible.

Haku had decided to silently trail Uchiha Sasuke and his team if he was to find anyone working for Orochimaru at all in the forest. If the Snake Sannin's main goal in his operation in Konoha was to tame the Uchiha, then surely following him would prove useful, though for the first few days of his following and systematically avoiding detection that would no doubt occur if he allowed the surveillance cameras spotted him, nothing much occurred.

The Hyuuga and the Pink haired girl had to carry the Uchiha around as the continuously changed their camp locations, completely oblivious to his presence. It seemed that when Orochimaru had placed the cursed seal on Sasuke, it knocked him out for quite some time as he did not awaken for quite a few days, and when he did, it was quite the scene to say the least.

He and Naruto had agreed to meet again after this part of the exam was over on the outskirts of the forest on the northern side near the river so he had plenty of time to father information.

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The first sign of action occurred two days after he separated from Naruto when team seven tried to make camp to rest after having to haul the Uchiha around while the Hyuuga scouted for potential scrolls. Haku was quite relieved that Naruto had taught him about the abilities of the Byakugan and the Sharingan else he was certain the girl would have spotted him easily with the use of her eyes, the fact was though that Haku continuously stayed out of range of the girl's eyes at all times to avoid detection, which seemed to work as she had made no signs of having spotted him.

However, his observations became infinitely more interesting when the team of two conscious and one unconscious genin were ambushed by a group of sound genin apparently sent to 'kill Uchiha Sasuke' which Haku found amusing. Honestly, as if the Otokage would allow for his carefully laid out plans to fail because of some genin under his command – he more then likely sent them to test Sasuke out some more, which Haku was more then willing to just observe.

At first, the girl from the Oto team attacked seemingly with Genjutsu, which the Hyuuga easily saw through; however, the pink haired one was not as lucky as she was caught by the Oto girl by the hair. The Hyuuga, however, proved her worth as a shinobi by quickly and easily disabling the Oto genin with spiky hair that tried to blast her before she could get close enough to him with wind blasts from his arms. The Hyuuga easily dodged them and disabled his tenketsu in his arms and legs, rendering him useless. However, the Oto Nin that resembled a mummy was not as easily defeated as he used some weird contraption on his arm to make the Hyuuga double over in pain. Interesting.

As all hope seemed lost however, a strange green clad boy with a bowl cut hairstyle rushed into the clearing and kicked away the mummified Oto genin while the pink haired Konoha shinobi freed herself from the hold the Sound genin had on her by cutting her hair and falling free from her grasp.

Haku continued to watch with interest as the green clad boy actually seemed to be demolishing the mummified genin up until the point where he performed a double edged sword technique that slammed the both of them into the ground at high velocities – his opponent coming out of his worse for wear.

"That's i-impossible" Haku heard the green kid say, much to his amusement. It was obvious that he had used chakra to cushion his fall so that he wouldn't receive as much damage, but what really piqued his interest was a spike of foul and vile chakra, a chakra that could be recognized as Orochimaru's. The Uchiha boy seemed to be awake as purple chakra swirled around him like a vortex as black markings went up the left side of his body, covering his face and arm. The boy seemed to have a psychotic grin on his face also while feeling said power course through him. Haku thought it prudent to listen into whatever was happening at that time.

"This power…" Sasuke muttered to himself "I feel great"

"Sasuke-kun, what's wrong?" asked Sakura tentatively, not sure how to process whatever was happening.

"Wrong? WRONG?! Nothing's wrong! I FEEL GREAT!" the Uchiha exclaimed before his eyes settled on Sakura "Sakura, who did this to you?"

"S-Sasuke-kun" the girl stuttered, seemingly afraid of what lay before her "I'm o-okay now, there's r-really no problem" she said, trying to diffuse the situation.

"I SAID WHO DID THIS TO YOU?!" the Uchiha snapped, causing Sakura to flinch and point a shaking hand in the direction of the girl of the Oto team. Before said girl could say anything, Sasuke appeared behind her in a burst of speed and punched her with all of his newfound strength. The result was a large cracking sound that caused everyone in the clearing, and those watching, to either wince or pale. Sasuke had punched her in the lower back, most likely breaking it in the process.

As the girl collapsed like a puppet that had lost its strings to the ground, Sasuke moved onto his next target – chakra still swirling around him while he basked in its power. Sasuke took slow yet deliberate steps towards the Mummified genin who seemed to be contemplating his options.

Suddenly, the remaining Oto nin who was still able to fight reached into his pouch and produced a scroll "Please let my team and me go and we'll give you our scroll" he humbly requested, yet Sasuke would have none of it.

"Why shouldn't I just kill you and eliminate the competition in the process?" he countered "Then take the scroll from your dead hands?" he asked, a cruel smirk not unlike Orochimaru's on his features.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura screamed out fearfully "stop this madness!" she screamed, as if killing in a ninja exam was wrong and he was a monster for killing someone who intended to kill him in the first place. Sasuke and Hanabi, who had recently recovered from Dosu's attack turned an angry glare at Sakura, causing her to flinch, however, when Sasuke turned back, his prey had already disappeared.

Seeing this, Sasuke turned his anger on the next logical target – Sakura. However, before he could charge at her, Hanabi put a hand on his shoulder, causing the Uchiha to glare at her also. It seemed though that the young Hyuuga was either used to such glares and leakage of killing intent or wasn't fazed by the Uchiha at all "Though I am not quite ­

fond of Haruno-san right now Uchiha-san" she began, complete with a glare in Sakura's direction "we unfortunately need her to pass this portion of the exam, therefore I can't let you kill her as you will be harming us more then aiding your own sudden need for bloodlust" she finished in a calm yet demanding tone that she probably inherited from her father.

Haku watched with interest as the black markings on the Uchiha's body faded away and the purple chakra subsided as the Uchiha nodded in Hanabi's direction. It seemed that the curse seal had not completely eaten away at his personality as rational thought was still a possibility for the genin.

For the rest of the exam, Haku watched team seven try their hardest to pass the exam, only succeeding when an interesting character stepped in to help them. Someone she immediately recognized from Naruto's information – Yakushi Kabuto. The man was known by the two wandering nuke-nin to be Orochimaru's right hand man, yet here he was, with a Konoha forehead protector, impersonating a genin. How could the Hokage let this happen?

Haku left the forest when team seven made it to their destination, thus passing this part of the chunin exams and headed to the place he was supposed to meet Naruto at when his information gathering was complete.

Naruto stood in the middle of a demolished clearing, training with one of the futon jutsu he was attempting to create when he picked up Haku's scent heading in his direction. He was earlier then expected but that just probably meant that team Uchiha finished before the last day of the second portion of the Chunin exams.

Heading over to the campfire in preparation to Haku's arrival, Naruto began to drink some water when the boy appeared before him by rising out of a puddle of water that had mysteriously appeared on the floor of the completely dry campsite – they were in the land of fire after all, rain was not too common.

"Salutations Haku-san, I trust your information gathering was eventful?" asked Naruto, after taking another sip of water from his water bottle. Haku just eyed him shrewdly, Naruto looked tired and worn out, which was completely a surprise seeing as even after rigorous training exercises he would never look this worn out. Seeing the question in Haku's eyes when he removed the white mask he still opted to wear, Naruto elaborated.

"I was creating a new…difficult technique" Naruto elaborated, without too little or too much information at all "Orochimaru was not a problem in the slightest, he did get away though" he finished.

Haku sighed before reporting everything he saw in the forest to Naruto, who seemed to be listening intently.

"It seems Uchiha-san has a better control of the curse seal then the other test subjects are recorded to have. I met the first test subject fighting Orochimaru when I went to intercept him and she seemed to be easily taunted into fits of rage – either the Uchiha has more control over his emotions then we gave him credit for or this curse seal was designed to take a longer time consuming the personality so that he could remain in Konoha for the remainder of the Chunin exams…" Naruto mused out loud, as Haku nodded.

"I assumed the latter also. What do you think about Kabuto being a spy in Konoha?" asked Haku, while Naruto simply took a sip of his water in response.

"I know a lot more about Kabuto then he would probably like – Sasori-sensei used him as a spy before his…death and his role as a spy in Konoha for Orochimaru was known by me. I find it amusing though that he still is a spy masquerading as a genin, especially with his chakra levels and skill, one would think the _illustrious_ village of Konoha would be able to notice such things" he finished, with an amused tone in his voice while putting an emphasis on his description of the village.

"What are our plans for now?" asked a curious Haku.

Naruto leaned back against the tree and took out a stick of pocky while pondering their next move "Oto has allied with Suna to conduct an invasion, this much we know" he began, continuing when Haku nodded "We should scout out any sound shinobi who have infiltrated into the land of fire and…hamper their plans…I'll leave that to you" he finished, getting an extremely confused look from Haku.

"I may not like Konoha" Naruto conceded "but I do not wish for them to be destroyed by Oto, it would bolster their village's popularity and power and that is something Orochimaru should not have" he elaborated, sure that Haku understood now.

"I will attempt to gather more information on Orochimaru" he stated "I doubt he is anywhere near here anymore, so it would be rather troublesome if I were to look for him; the best I can do is wait for him to make his move and then strike"

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Haku looked worried and voiced this thoughts "What if Konoha shinobi capture you?" he asked, not wanting his first real friend to be taken away from him. Naruto laughed softly, yet the laughter didn't much reach his eyes.

"I very much doubt they are skilled enough to apprehend me" he began "and even though they may not know much of the scheduled invasion, I very much doubt that they are completely in the dark, so their efforts will be directed elsewhere" he finished.

Both shinobi sat in a comfortable silence as Naruto created a small campfire to cook their dinner. The following month will be interesting indeed.

Author's note:

I really appreciate all of the reviews, they help me continue to write and give me ideas in the process; I'll try to answer as many queries as I can now:

Haku is a boy because I already have a pairing lined up for him – I am not against fem Haku stories, in fact, I rather like them, though I intend to pair him with someone that I think would be rather…funny yet plausible at the same time. You will discover that soon enough.

A lot of people expressed their dislike of Sasori dying so early and easily, but to be perfectly honest, I had no idea how to write his death any other way. From what I've _seen_ in the manga and anime, Sasori _should_ be more powerful then both Orochimaru and Kabuto, yet at the same time, Sakura was able to defeat him with the help of Chiyo. If I were to go from that – I'd imagine Orochimaru and Kabuto are MUCH stronger then Sakura and Chiyo, especially if Orochimaru still had the use of his arms. I'm rambling though and what I'm getting at is if Sasori pulled out all his puppets and ape shit on the two, he may have won, but what would I do with Sendaime-puppet hm? Surely it would have to be destroyed for Sasori to die? I toyed with the idea of Naruto arriving at the scene after Sasori had used his performance of 100 puppets technique to see 100 destroyed puppets and a beaten Sasori, but I wanted Naruto to be able to see a reason for him to be cautious of Orochimaru. Not to mention that I had written it as if Sasori was exhausted, probably after killing a large amount of bandits with his 100 puppets technique or something, it doesn't matter, but it was in the end, Sasori's confidence that he was protected from other missing-nins by Akatsuki that lead to his downfall. He hadn't counted on Orochimaru not caring because he knew about Naruto.

Pairing will stay NaruAnko, its fun to write because she's so easy to anger and Naruto is so infuriatingly calm and unable to anger. Something that I'm sure Anko will find annoying. They will meet a lot more before any pairing happens and it won't happen till he's 18-20 at least (he's 14 now). I will write in random missions and the such where Naruto will interact 'unintentionally' with different Konoha shinobi because its 'in his best interest' but I honestly want for the Konoha rookies and jounin to earn a respect, even if it stems from fear, of Naruto. More then a few of these 'mission' will have Anko in them. She will also report Naruto's ability to do seal less Genjutsu to Sandaime, which will eventually get to Orochimaru who will realize how he was beaten so easily, therefore, it won't happen again. Sandaime may even put Anko on a secret Naruto 'retrieval' mission to bring him to Konoha, though you all should remember that I said he WON'T go back to a hidden village, period. To live anyway.

Naruto and Pocky? Honestly, I've kind of molded Naruto's personality around my own – hard to anger, often infuriatingly calm, intelligent and calculative, observant and completely pocky crazy. I may not be all 'emotionless' but that's a seasoned warrior thing anyway.

Question about him being too powerful with him controlling three Kage puppets are valid. I intend to make it clear that currently, it's very difficult for him to manipulate all three puppets as freely as he would like, though he will find a way to counter that soon enough. I just find it slightly hard to believe that someone could conceivably 'perfectly' control three puppets like that with such precision, it would be like, theoretically, spinning three arms in three different directions at the same time – its defiantly possible, but to be able to do it efficiently will be a nuisance. I think I gave a clue there as to how he would overcome that though.

About puppets that he could control from within like Hiruko. I definitely thought about it but I decided against it simply because of one fact. His strongest field may be the puppeteer technique, but it is not his only field. He is masterful in the areas of Fuuinjutsu, Genjutsu and manipulating his elemental chakra, so, he has other ways of fighting. If I made him a 'Hiruko' it would severely limit his ability to use other branches I think anyway.

About people who had grievances against the rape scene, yes it was gruesome; yes it was dark, but honestly? I probably would have happened if they had taken her. I'm trying to make this fic as realistic as possible and I think that's what would have happened. Besides, it gave me a way to show Naruto at his most 'sadistic' level.

That's all I can think of now; thank you for all of the wonderful reviews and I will try to keep the chapters to MINIMUM once a week, of not three a week, it depends how my schedule is I guess (I play a lot of WoW p ). I hope you enjoyed the chap and the character interactions within, there will be more of Naruto interacting with favorites next chapter. Adios.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Konoha's Council

Chapter 7: Konoha's Council

The Sandaime Hokage of Konoha could currently be found sitting in the village council chambers feeling a headache of epic proportions coming on. He found himself on more then one occasion cursing his predecessor for his untimely demise and leaving him again to this job he should have rightfully retired from many years ago.

He was sitting in his rightful position at the head of the large circular table in the council chambers, flanked on each side by his old teammates, advisors and elder council members Mitokado Homura and Utatane Homura. Neither of the two, despite being long time friends of the old Hokage, were of the same mind as him in regards to protecting Naruto and keeping him safe. Where he would constantly preach that it was the late Yondaime's wish for him to be seen as a hero for keeping the nine tails prisoner, they saw him as a possible avenue for Kyuubi to return and begin its reign of terror again. They may not have been as close minded as most of the villagers in thinking he was the Kyuubi reincarnate – they weren't that stupid – because if that were the case, surely the boy would have killed them after the first sign of a lack of respect. Still, they seemed to be extremely happy when the boy was apparently 'killed' so imagine their surprise when Hatake Kakashi reports after a simple 'C' ranked mission that he had spotted someone who fits Naruto's description with excellent shinobi skills in the land of waves.

After Kakashi brought this news to him, he was forced to inform the council of said information. Most of the shinobi on the council like the Hyuuga, Nara, Yamanaka, Akimichi, Aburame and Inuzaka were never 'Naruto haters' as he had dubbed those that called for the child's death, however, now that he has apparently been trained as a shinobi, they all, save him, agreed that he would be a threat to Konoha due to any anger – as rational as it may be – he would hold towards Konoha. At the time, Sarutobi had no choice but to allow them to do what they liked and when they had gotten word of him being able to use the 'Kage Bunshin' technique, a technique native to Konoha only as one of their Kinjutsu, they deemed that enough of a reason to deem him an 'S' class criminal – because he obviously stole it from either one of their shinobi or from a scroll owned by Konoha. Sarutobi tried to warn them that making him such a high ranked criminal would only drag attention to the boy but they wouldn't listen – they would discover at a later date how much danger they put their own village in by committing such an act.

What Sarutobi puzzled over however was the other bit of information Kakashi reported in that the council deemed irrelevant. The boy was wearing a slashed Konoha forehead protector. That alone was weird as he was never a shinobi of Konoha, therefore he could not be a missing-nin of Konoha, so why wear the mark of a missing-nin from a village? His own one on top of that?

The wise Hokage could only come to one conclusion in regards to that question. He wants people to know that he was from Konoha, yet not a part of it. For what other reason would there be for not hiding his features like the obvious whisker marks on his cheeks or his rare golden blonde hair? Naruto didn't care if people knew who he was and meant either one of two things, he was reckless and not as smart as he gave him credit for, or he was strong and confident enough in his own abilities to simply not care to the point where it doesn't matter. It hardly matters if hunter-nin knew who you are if you could kill them for engaging in combat with you.

Aside from the Naruto issue though, Sarutobi had other problems to deal with. That being Orochimaru having being spotted within the forest of death and marking the last Uchiha loyal to Konoha with his curse seal – this was an issue for debate currently for the Konoha council. There were arguments that they would have to be more delicate with the boy with his 'fragile' mind being harassed more, while others opted to throw him in prison the minute he shows a desire to use its powers. The only reason the other shinobi of Konoha with the Curse Seal, Mitarashi Anko, had not been locked away in the deepest of Konoha's dungeons with the key thrown away was because she had shown no desire to use the curse seal's power, quite the opposite, she had developed a legendary hating for her previous sensei – something a lot of the villagers fail to see when they address her as the 'snake slut' or 'serpent whore'.

Sarutobi sighed again as the council continued to bicker about Sasuke while he pretended to listen. He was certain his headache would only increase soon with Anko reporting to him about having information on a certain blonde haired criminal. He had told her that she would report her findings about Orochimaru and Naruto before the council and jounin of the village in this very meeting, mainly because he didn't want to deal with the bickering and annoying people who will make themselves known quite vocally during the report.

As the argument about Sasuke being allowed to compete further in the exams reached its apex, he raised his hand in a gesture for them all to shut up so he could call on Anko to give her report, and shut up they did.

"While Sasuke-kun receiving the curse seal from my ex-student is an interesting and important to a degree, I have another issue of importance to bring to the council's attention" he said, his voice calm and weary, yet every syllable cut through the silence of the council chambers like a gong. He had now successfully grabbed the attention of the shinobi council who were now looking at him in confusion as if his claims were the stupidest thing in the world; however, he ignored the stares and motioned to one of the two jounin who were present at the meeting standing beside the entrance to the chambers. As he did so, every shinobi on the council swiveled their heads so that they were facing the door when they saw Mitarashi Anko's face, normally jovial and in a large grin looking oddly serious expression, warranting attention.

"Arigato Hokage-sama" she began, in an all business tone "While I was in Training ground 44 monitoring the second phase of the Chunin exams, my subordinates informed me of finding a team of Kusa genin with their faces melted off – a sign that Orochimaru is around and trying to infiltrate. My suspicions were confirmed when I felt a spike in chakra somewhere in the forest that felt exactly like his used to, vile and evil" she explained, this part the council already ­

knew however "after feeling his chakra, I pursued it until I came upon his location where we had a…quick yet ineffective fight…" she said, looking like she was sucking on a lemon when she had to describe the fight.

"What happened Anko-chan, we need details" asked the Hokage, not trying to sound too demanding but urging her to elaborate.

"I engaged and I tried to use a suicide technique on him, unfortunately, he angered me enough to cloud my judgment along with the fact that he recognized the technique I planned to use on him, for he was the one who taught it to me" she said, getting shocked looks from the other jounin in the room as well as many of the council members who doubted her allegiance to the leaf after her sensei turned traitor "after interrupting the jutsu, he proceeded to torture me through the curse seal, and when he did so, I couldn't move…the pain was unlike anything I've ever felt before…it felt like my skull and brain were being crushed under an enormous pressure and that there was acid instead of blood running through my veins" she explained, getting winces of sympathy from some of the people in the room.

"How did you get out of that situation Anko-san? Surely Orochimaru wouldn't have just let you escape?" asked Homura, snidely, still not believing her story one hundred percent.

Anko sighed, knowing that her answer would cause chaos but continued anyway "Somebody else happened on the scene and proceeded to fight with Orochimaru" she said, hoping they wouldn't ask who. That was not to be the case however and it shall be known that Mitarashi Anko had her ass saved by a child.

"Who arrived? Surely no genin could hold off Orochimaru for long and Uchiha Sasuke had already received the cursed seal by this time" commented Koharu, getting a snort out of Anko, which made the two elder advisors glare at her "something funny Mitarashi-san?"

"You _actually_ think the Uchiha would have been a match for Orochimaru?" she asked, with humor as that ever present grin returned to her face "no, the person who fought with Orochimaru was much more…capable…and powerful" she answered.

This caused the two elder advisors along with Danzo, the head of a separate branch of ANBU, who also sat in on the council meeting along with any other Uchiha supporter to frown in concern and annoyance.

"Are you implying that there is a genin in the Chunin exams more powerful, yet alone, 'much more' powerful then Uchiha Sasuke?" asked Koharu, attempted to be intimidating, however the old woman had no effect on Anko, especially when one had Orochimaru as a sensei.

"Pfft, no, this person was no genin, this person wasn't even a part of the Chunin exams" she said, earning more curious glances "the person that happened on the scene and proceeded to fight Orochimaru was Uzumaki Naruto" there, she said it, and she got the exact result she assumed she would get. Chaos.

Danzo, Koharu and Homura all shouted objections and insults at both Anko and the Hokage while the other council members looked around in shock, worry and concern. 'If the vessel of the Kyuubi no Kitsune could take on Orochimaru, the demon must be taking over!' was the general consensus of everyone in the room.

Sarutobi knew, he just knew, his headache was going to get worse in this meeting "Enough!" he barked, his usual calm demeanor absent in favor for silencing the room to ease his throbbing headache. He really was too old for this shit "please continue Anko-chan, what happened next?"

Anko seemed to be deliberating mentally whether she should actually answer the question, it seemed, and when the Hokage was going to call her on it she began to speak "It was weird and oddly familiar at the same time…it's hard to explain" she said, gaining the interest of everyone in the room.

"Firstly, he was able to land a sneak attack on Orochimaru in the first place, actually hurting him and stopping him from continuing the torture, which is a surprise on his own because anyone who has ever worked or trained with the man would know that that's an impressive feat on its own – the man is almost impossible to sneak up on" she said, getting nods from the three elderly members of the council, one the man's sensei and his sensei's teammates.

"The following ten minutes was utterly strange yet very informative at the same time" she said, seemingly lost in thought "Orochimaru began his usually routine when he engages an enemy – taunting" she began "the man will always taunt his opponents to get them angry so that their fighting abilities will decrease before he begins his attack hard and fast" she explained from memory "but when he tried that with Uzumaki, he was unsuccessful to say the least" this got the attention of everyone in the room, Anko though, but she hid a smirk at what the rest of her report would do to them once they heard it "not one ounce of killing intent or the slightest change in posture to any of the words Orochimaru said to him, and considering what he was saying, it seemed like an impressive feat" she began, pausing to let them absorb that information.

"Orochimaru taunted Uzumaki about how he had killed Uzumaki's sensei and about Uzumaki wanting revenge" she said, officially now gaining her Hokage's attention "and the sensei he mentioned killing was someone named 'Sasori' ­

though I'm not sure who that is…even though I know the name rings a bell" they were interrupted when someone in the council room gasped softly. Everyone turned their heads in the direction of the sound to see none other then Danzo looking incredulously at Anko before turning to the Sandaime.

"You said that Uzumaki was seen using puppets as a technique in the land of waves?" asked Danzo as Sarutobi immediately picked up on where his old rival was going with this.

"Akasuna no Sasori" Sarutobi said, much to everyone's surprise "a missing-nin from Sunagakure no Sato, and also a master of the puppet technique" he said, explaining "if he was Naruto's sensei ever since the boy disappeared, he would no doubt be strong in that field, eerily so" he said, sounding grave, before they were interrupted by Anko clearing her throat to get their attention.

"That's nice and all" she said, sounding completely uninterested "but Uzumaki didn't even use any puppets to defeat Orochimaru" she said, once again, shocking everyone in the room.

"Anyway, after his unsuccessful attempt to goad Uzumaki, the boy in response simply took out…a stick of pocky and ate it pretty much in his face…" she said, getting an incredulous look from everyone in the room now at the proclamation "the reason why the situation was so bizarre was because had I not known the boy was Uzumaki in the first place, I would have sworn that it was Uchiha Itachi from before he turned traitor…his voice, the lack of emotion, the pocky obsession, yet at the same time, annoyingly polite and…well…annoying" she said. Sarutobi seemed amused at how Anko too seemed annoyed.

"The gaki was not only 'scolding' me for letting 'anger cloud my judgment'" she said, putting air quotations around the quote she took from him "but he was almost polite about insulting Orochimaru too, it was the most…bizarre thing ever, because it actually worked, he goaded Orochimaru into making the first move…" she explained, by this time, the admissions that the boy reminded her of Uchiha Itachi, him having beaten Orochimaru and who he was had gotten everyone's attention completely, even the ever indifferent Hyuuga Hiashi.

"However, right before Orochimaru was going to land a hit on Uzumaki's face, he stopped, like he had seen something to make him want to stop. He then leapt back and proceeded to fire kunai and Katon jutsu at seemingly nothing" she said, with a frown "I had no idea what was going on, but eventually, I came to the conclusion that Uzumaki had put Orochimaru under a Genjutsu without the use of hand seals or with single handed hand seals while distracting us both with his Pocky…which is incredible because…well, who the hell could catch Orochimaru in a Genjutsu without him _knowing_ about it…bastard he may be…but the man's is smart…" she said, not sure if the praising of his intelligence would anger the council.

Everyone in the council room however was silent, absorbing the information they had recently received about the latest addition to Konoha's criminal list. Not only was the boy trained in puppetry techniques by one of the greatest puppeteers ever, but he seemingly was at a masterful level of Genjutsu, to be able to possibly place a Sannin of all people under a Genjutsu without the use of hand seals and without him realizing was just scary.

"See what we're been saying Sarutobi" Koharu suddenly said, breaking the silence "the Kyuubi has obviously taken over if the boy has shown such skills, remember Hatake-san also reporting the boy having red slitted eyes? Eerily similar to the Kyuubi's wouldn't you say?!" she said, getting angry at her former teammate.

Sarutobi just frowned at his teammate before turning back to Anko "Did you feel any malice or any of the Kyuubi's chakra at all during the encounter? Even slightly?"

Anko shook her head dismissively "The only sign of even the _slightest_ bit of anger that the boy gave off during the whole encounter was when I almost refused to eat the stick of pocky he offered me…but that probably just proves he's obsessed with pocky to an irrational level, not that he's a demon hiding in a human's body…besides, I don't know many demon's with a pocky obsession…" she said, with a smirk, however she received several glares stating that her humor was not appreciated, regardless of the muffled chuckle coming from the other jounin in the room.

Sarutobi leaned back in his chair and took a few puffs of his pipe before speaking, as everybody seemed to be waiting for his input "A boy who after being nearly killed by his own village's people and left for dead in the forest that saves damsels in distress, frees villages from oppression and tries to kill or at least stop Orochimaru to some degree doesn't sound like a demon, or even remotely like one, even if you do think that the stealing of scrolls from different shinobi villages suggests so" he said, stating the obvious "though I doubt that if I ask for him to be removed from the wanted criminals list you would listen either – though I must confess that should we put a bounty on his head, we could be needlessly endangering our own shinobi by sending them to their death after him, for it wouldn't be much of a crime to kill someone if he was just protecting himself, hm?" his warnings seemed to be ignored though and their original idea of placing him as an 'S' class criminal all the more valid.

"How do we know if we can trust…_her_…report Hokage-sama?" asked Koharu, to Sarutobi's right. The only people in the room that noticed how much the comment hurt Anko were Sarutobi, Hiashi and the other jounin present for the meeting, Hatake Kakashi and in response, Sarutobi sent her a reassuring glance which she accepted with a small almost unnoticeable smile.

­

"You can be sure to trust her because I trust her – are you implying that my ability to judge one's character is flawed Koharu-san? That would be most…inappropriate to suggest to the leader of the village" he said, easily, while taking another puff of his pipe, completely ignoring the glare sent at him by his old teammate.

"I thank you for your report Anko-chan, I daresay that you should listen to Uzumaki-kun's advise next time you are in battle with Orochimaru, a fine shinobi like yourself should not let anger cloud their judgment" he said kindly, getting an embarrassed look from Anko, though inwardly, she was wondering how much fun it would be to ram a kunai with an explosive note up his colon and set it off.

"Kakashi-kun, what do you have to report?" asked the Hokage, already knowing but acting like he didn't anyway as the man stepped up to report what he had heard earlier.

"As I was applying the Fuja Hoin on Uchiha Sasuke earlier today, we were interrupted by an unexpected appearance by a Tsuchi Bunshin of Orochimaru himself. He informed us that should we call off the exams or remove the Uchiha from the exams due to his appearance or the application of the curse seal on Sasuke, he will attack the village with all his might" he said, in a respectful tone while reporting to so many elders.

The elders in the room seemed to be silent in contemplation until Nara Shikaku interrupted the silence "The only reason he would want the Uchiha to remain in the exams or the exams to continue for that matter is if he had plans involving those two subjects" he paused "I believe regardless of what we do, he will most likely try to attack Konoha during the Chunin exams, what better way to show up Konoha in front of the Uchiha he has recently marked then to attack Konoha during a time when our security should be the tightest and still succeed, hm? Such a troublesome man that Orochimaru…" he finished, earning a small chuckle from Sarutobi, Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Choza.

"I believe Nara-san is correct in his assumption, it would make sense if his overall goal is to lure the Uchiha to his side" commented Hyuuga Hiashi, agreeing with the Nara clan head.

"For what purpose does Orochimaru want the Uchiha though? He may be the rookie of the year but he isn't so great as to risk all that he has in attacking Konoha…" offered Inuzaka Tsume, head of the Inuzaka clan.

"My foolish apprentice's life ambition was always to learn every jutsu in the world – or as many as he could for that matter" he didn't mention the other main ambition of Orochimaru, not thinking they needed to know that yet "if he were to obtain the Sharingan for his own uses, such an ambition would become much easier" he finished.

The council continued to debate after dismissing Kakashi and Anko about what they were going to do in response to the possibility of invasion and Orochimaru's plans late into the night.

Two figures stood in a dark alleyway conversing in secret in Konoha. One of these figures had his whole body covered with a white cloak while his face was obscured by a porcelain ANBU mask while the other appeared to be a regular old traveling merchant. Normally such a meeting would draw the attention of any competent shinobi in the area were it not for the well placed triple layered Genjutsu covering the area and causing even the most accomplished of Hyuuga to completely ignore the alley.

"What are the Hokage's opinions about the 'S' class criminal Uzumaki Naruto" asked the aged merchant to the ANBU captain he was speaking to.

"He doesn't agree that he should be made an 'S' class criminal and disagrees with the shinobi's council's views of him" he replied in a respectful if not slightly monotonous tone.

"What are the council's views on him" the man asked the ANBU captain.

"They think he is a threat and that there is no possible way for such a young child to be so skillfully without being influenced by the demon he keeps imprisoned" he answered immediately.

"What are the village's plans in regards to Orochimaru and his appearance during the Chunin exams?"

"I have not been completely informed of what will happen, but I have been instructed to inform my squad to remain hidden within the spectators of the third phase of the Chunin exams and blend in with the general populace – we are ordered to stop any threats that may arise"

'_So they know of a possible invasion, not as incompetent as I thought' _thought the old man before speaking up again "What do the council intend to do with the Uchiha now that he has been marked by Orochimaru?" he asked, more curious then actually needing to know.

"They have assigned jounin-sensei Hatake Kakashi to personally train him for the month before the third phase of the Chunin exams and teach him his personal jutsu, regardless of whatever protests he had to doing so. He is instructed ­

to ignore the other two students of his team in favor of making the Uchiha has powerful as possible before the exams continues" he finished, no sign of emotion that would show his thoughts on the issue.

The old man scoffed internally, not allowing the ANBU captain to see his reaction to the news, not that it mattered anyway; he wouldn't remember this meeting.

"Have you been given orders regarding Uzumaki Naruto and if not, who has and what are they?" asked the old man.

"We are instructed to keep up a patrol and search for someone matching Uzumaki's description of blonde hair, tanned skin, straw hat and grey cloak and bring them in for questioning. We were authorized to kill on sight should he resist capture by the council. This was only told to ANBU, Mitarashi Anko and Hatake Kakashi respectively" the ANBU captain supplied, making the old man smirk slightly.

"Does Konoha suspect anyone other then Otogakure willing to invade during the Chunin exams?"

"The Council believed that it wasn't inconceivable that Iwagakure would team up with Orochimaru and attack, but other then that, no.

'_So they knew nothing of Sunagakure or they haven't told their ANBU…interesting'_

"That will be all ANBU-san, I hope you enjoyed your hour long private training session this afternoon" the old man said, his eyes flashing red showing slitted pupils before he disappeared in a gust of wind.

Shortly after the man disappeared, the ANBU captain shook his head as if it was filled with cobwebs and leapt out of the alley, heading back towards ANBU headquarters now that he was done with his private training.

An old man could be seen walking down the street in Konohagakure no Sato before turning into a Dango store for a late afternoon snack. Spotting his companion, a young girl in a pink Kimono, he took a seat across from her and took out a stick of Pocky as he munched on its chocolaty goodness, much to his companion's annoyance.

"Those sweets aren't good for your health or your teeth Ojisan" commented the girl, with a disapproving glare.

"Gomen Haku-chan, I'm afraid I wasn't listening, you said something about Pocky being unhealthy?" the old man asked, with his own frown in return.

The newly dubbed Haku glared right back at her 'ojisan' now with an annoyed expression, if the twitching of the eyebrow was any indication.

"I told you not to call me that, I'm a boy!" he hissed, quietly enough for no one to hear them. The old man just raised a bushy eyebrow and smirked slightly.

"You're wearing a pink kimono and are looking quite…pretty" he commented, in an amused voice, getting his companion more irritated.

"I'm in disguise!" he hissed out, his voice notably more baritone now then it was before, making his gender more believable.

"Yes, I noticed" the old man said "you seem quite fond of disguising yourself as a girl, I wonder" he said, inquisitively as he took out another stick of pocky from god knows where "is it a fetish or are you really trying to woo some of the males in this establishment because that boy and his dog over there seem to be quite…interested" he said, with a small quirk of his lips as he tried to suppress a grin.

Before Haku could strangle Naruto for calling him gay yet again, said boy and dog walked over with a, well, what was supposed to be, a charming grin on his face making Naruto actually smirk visibly as the color drained from Haku's face.

"Hey there beautiful" the boy began "my name's Kiba, Inuzaka Kiba and I was wondering if you'd want to come and share a drink and some dango with me, oh" he paused, smiling at Naruto "that is if your father doesn't mind, I promise to be a perfect gentleman" he finished, with a million watt smile.

If Naruto ever showed much emotion, he would be laughing his ass off, but seeing as it would ruin his 'rep', he merely smiled kindly at the 'young lad' and nodded "Not at all lad" he said, internally laughing as Haku glared daggers at him and made 'neutering' gestures at him if he continued "I'm sure you are a respectable young man, have fun and make sure to bring her home before 9 pm, she has choirs to complete, after all" Naruto finished, smiling at Haku who would ­

be foaming at the mouth in rage if he wasn't so concerned with not causing a scene and causing suspicion amongst the veteran shinobi around.

"What about all of my responsibilities tousan?" he asked desperately "we need to meet out quota for the month and if we don't how will we live?" he asked, feigning desperation.

"Nonsense Haku-chan" he began brightly "we are only young once, you should go and enjoy your youth while you still can"

"Arigato…Tousan" he said, with an extremely forced smile as his eyebrow was still twitching. Kiba just looked like Naruto made his day.

"Thank jiji, I promise to bring her home on time, let's go beautiful" he said with a large smile, almost forcefully pulling Haku away from Naruto.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do" he commented over his shoulder with his impression of a perverted giggle, causing Kiba to blush and Haku to glare at him even harder.

As Naruto congratulated himself he discreetly performed two jutsu before a familiar person sat down across from him where Haku was sitting glaring at him eating his Pocky.

"Don't think I don't know who you are" began Mitarashi Anko, with a fresh plate of Dango in front of her "your Genjutsu covering your appearance may be spectacular but I very much doubt there are many older men with similar Pocky obsessions and poor acting abilities such as yourself" she said, with a grin as she finished a stick of pocky and held the pointed stick that was left suggestively as if wanting to do something very uncomfortable with it to Naruto.

"I'm very aware you know who I am Anko-san" replied Naruto, his demeanor changing immediately "I had sensed your arrival and have already replaced myself with a Doku Bunshin, suffice to say, if anything happens to this clone, many innocent people will die when the poison spreads around this enclosed area" he finished, taking out another stick of Pocky.

Anko just glared at him but let it go "How do I know you're not lying?" she asked, not believing his story for a minute.

"You are fooling no one Anko-san" he replied, still chewing on the magnificent bread stick "I know you discovered my abilities with Genjutsu while I had that little…altercation with Orochimaru, surely a quick Bunshin technique and Kawarimi aren't out of my league" he said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"I really don't like you" she admitted making Naruto shrug.

"Join the club Anko-san" he replied, indifferently "I hear they have special T-shirts now" he said, attempting to anger the woman before him, he found it amusing to do so in the forest of death after all – it was almost as fun as getting Haku angry.

"You think you're so cool, don't you punk?" she shot back, her glare intensified.

"Is there a reason you chose to spend this lovely afternoon glaring at me Anko-san?" Naruto replied, changing the subject. How dare this woman insinuate that he wasn't 'cool'?

"Yeah, you're an ass" she said, as if it was the most brilliant and perfect answer in the world "and you have the entire ANBU force concentrating on locating you, it won't take long for them to do so" both Anko and Naruto knew that this was a lie, but Anko didn't know that he knew.

Naruto just shrugged and ignored her in favor of his pocky, which annoyed her just as much as it did in the forest of death – how could this BOY be so INFURIATING by doing absolutely NOTHING?!

"What is your purpose here in Konoha?" she asked, pushing her annoyance aside "if you harm one citizen's head, I'll kill you myself" she threatened while Naruto continued to munch away, seemingly blissfully unaware.

"Three things" he began, holding up three fingers "One is that you are unable to back up that threat" he said, cleaning the edges of his mouth now that he was done with his snack "Two is that my reasons are my own" he continued "and three is that even if I wanted to, what makes you so protective of them?" he asked, completely catching her off guard "you think I don't know about you Mitarashi Anko-san? Former pupil of Orochimaru and generally disliked, slurred, mistrusted and verbally abused by the local populace?" he commented, making Anko's eyes go wide in shock.

"Yes, I know about you Anko-san, most certainly more then you know about me" he finished, getting up "I wonder if your fiery determination to protect the villages actually stems from loyalty to the villages or rather your need, your ­

desire to prove them wrong about you" he said, leaving Anko to her own devices while he left the store to apply a new Genjutsu over his appearance so she couldn't find him again any time soon.

Anko, who had her eyes opened wide with shock just sat there wondering how this child knew so much about her. Her original goal after realizing who it exactly was sitting there was to get under his skin just like he did her in the forest, but in the end, he leaves her shocked, annoyed and furious, more so then she was before.

Quickly looking up in the direction he had left to, she saw that it was empty with no signs of Naruto, Genjutsu or not. Sighing, she chose to do what she normally does when something was troubling her, drink it away with saki. Lots and lots of saki.

Naruto stood in the middle of a decimated clearing, trees destroyed, the ground with large craters in it, rocks flung all over the place – as was common lately whenever he would train with his wind affinity. He had to find a location where he could train as much as he pleased without worrying about whether ANBU would stroll upon his training grounds and notice the unnatural destruction caused by him on the environment, therefore warranting an investigation. With the threat of invasion on the horizon, he wouldn't put it past them to track him until they found him either. He wouldn't be a very good 'criminal' if he would allow himself to be so easily captured either.

So instead, he found a clearing that had previously been used for intensive training, thereby destruction already somewhat present, before placing a Genjutsu around the area to discourage any weak shinobi 'happening' upon him before training.

It was late at night now that he had finished training and he idly wondered whatever happened to Haku when the object of his thoughts appeared in front of him with a glare to rival all glares from a puddle of water.

"Hello Haku-chan" he began "was your day…productive?" he asked, with barely contained amusement. He usually wasn't this 'evil', but ever since the day where Haku hid his Pocky stash from him, claiming that it was for his own good, he had to get his partner back. Honestly, what he had done for revenge was nothing compared to anyone stealing his precious pocky stash from him – now _that_ was truly evil.

Haku on the other hand was livid. He had to spend his whole day masquerading as a young woman on a date with a loud, obnoxious, infuriatingly stupid and arrogant mutt of a boy while desperately warding off any physical advances the boy was making at him. He had contemplated simply fleeing from the boy but if he had used any of his shinobi skills to do so – which is what it would have required to actually flee from an Inuzaka as they were renowned for their incredibly astute senses of smell – he would have most likely aroused suspicion in his 'date' as well as any other experienced shinobi who got word of what happened. Haku couldn't allow that to happen for it would risk capture, and Naruto knew this too. The result? Haku having to spend an entire day with a 'dog-boy' and trying avoid suspicion. The kid even had the audacity to try and kiss him! Him!

"Naruto" Haku began, calming himself with a few slow and controlling breaths "I hope you are aware that what you did to me earlier was wrong and you will be punished for it" he said, eyeing Naruto who had forgone his grey cloak and straw hat, opting to train without the troublesome garments.

"Hardly" he retaliated "perhaps you will think as to the consequences of your actions the next time you decide to relinquish me of my Pocky, hmm?" he asked, seemingly paying him no mind as he unrolled a scroll and began to take down notes, most likely on his latest technique no doubt, one in which he refused to show him until it was completed and perfected.

"You mean…" Haku spoke, after several moments of silence "you mean to tell me that all of _this_" he said, motioning to his pink kimono, choker covering his Adam's apple and everything else in the Konoha direction in general "was some sort of payback for me trying to get you to maintain a _healthy diet_?!" he hissed out, disbelief in his voice.

There was several minutes of silence as Naruto continued to take notes on the scroll which Haku noticed with only slight interest due to his current mood was titled 'Uzumaki Clan Secret Techniques'. Every second that Naruto didn't respond to his question, Haku seemed to get angrier and right before the very second he was about to unleash thousand upon thousands of Ice needles in his direction to quell his rage, he responded.

"Iie" he answered, lying "I thought I would do you a favor and set you up with a respectable young man from Konoha, he also seemed very eager to…_please_, so it seemed at the time to be a perfect match" he answered "know this though, I will not have your love get me killed because your boyfriend suddenly realized who I am and who you travel with, then goes blabbing to every willing ear in the village, however I will not stand in your way. Should you wish to settle down, I'm sure you can remain here in Konoha, they are not looking for you after all"

Twitch. Two twitches. Three twitches. Haku was really starting to question whether the stress of hanging around with Naruto was worth it in the long run. Surely it would shorten his life expectancy. He was never this quick to anger when he was traveling with Zabuza; then again, Zabuza never continuously insinuated that he was gay either. His sense of humor was extremely weird, aggravating and only funny when not directed at you.

­

"I have obtained some information from one of my spies in Konoha about the council and their Hokage's plans" Naruto said suddenly snapping Haku out of his thoughts and getting him to focus on what Naruto was telling him.

After Naruto finished explaining what he learned from god knows where – he honestly would rather not know – they sat in silence for a few moments before he spoke up.

"What do you want to do? Will we interfere with the invasion?" asked Haku before continuing "I'd imagine messing with Orochimaru's plans would be a worthwhile way to spend the next month" he commented, with a small smile.

"Hm" Naruto replied, seemingly contemplating "I have a…personal…mission to conduct while we are here, do what you wish. If a few Oto shinobi should go missing, who am I to complain?" asked Naruto, nodding to Haku before vanishing in a gust of wind.

Haku took one last look around himself before melding into a puddle that suddenly appeared before his feet. The puddle seemingly evaporated into the air as soon as Haku disappeared.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Origins

Chapter 8: Origins

Haku sighed as he looked down at the three genin training in the clearing while he remained hidden in the forests of Konoha. This past week provided little contact between Haku and his partner Naruto as he was still on his 'personal' mission, so in the mean time, Haku spent his time either disabling Oto shinobi and leaving them for Konoha trackers to find, or information gathering around Konoha – a shinobi can never be too well informed.

As he lazily watched the three genins train, he let his mind wonder to the aforementioned shinobi. He has been traveling with Naruto for several months now and he can honestly say that it has been interesting to say the least. He doesn't hold any illusions that they are friends, yet their relationship wouldn't be considered 'bad' either. Haku just didn't know enough about Naruto to consider him friend while Naruto knows a fair bit about his life, yet Naruto always seems to know too much for his own good.

Not that he wasn't grateful to the blonde; on the contrary, he supplied him with several technique scrolls and helped him master control over his bloodline to a degree that he was sure was never heard of before, allowing him to create several new techniques to use in conjunction with it. Not that being strong was of any importance to him, however, ever since Zabuza died, he made a point of getting stronger so that he could better protect his precious people – even if Naruto disapproves of him referring to Zabuza as such. The man essentially saved him from his own darkness and for that, Haku would be forever grateful, much like how he was grateful to Naruto for giving him a second chance at life, to do something that he wanted to do.

With Zabuza, it was always 'do as I say' or 'do as you're told', however, with Naruto, his opinion is valued and his actions are never restricted. Haku knew that his abilities made himself useful to Naruto, but he also knew that even if he didn't have his assistance, Naruto didn't really need him around. Perhaps the boy was lonely traveling on his own and decided that a traveling partner would save him from depression, or perhaps his enemies are powerful enough to warrant constant backup. Either way, it didn't much matter. Naruto was powerful, eerily so, which was proven on several occasion when he watched the boy at work. Sure, he had a monstrous chakra capacity, excellent control over it and superb skills to go with it, but what made him deadly is his strategically superior mind that is always ten to twenty steps ahead of his opponent's, not to mention the large amount of experience under his belt for someone so young. In a rare moment of bonding, Naruto acknowledged that he has been killing Jounin level missing-nin for years under the instruction of his previous sensei – the thought sent shivers down his spine.

"Mother wants your blood"

Haku turned his head slowly to see who exactly had snuck up on him with enough stealth to have gone unnoticed and utter such an obscure and cold statement to him. The boy had red hair and thick black rings around his eyebrow less eyes. He also had a tattoo over his left eye that was the Kanji for 'love' as well as an extremely heavy looking gourd strapped to his back.

Idly glancing back over his shoulder, Haku spotted the same figure standing motionless in the clearing with his two teammates who were still training, unaware of his presence or their teammate's absence.

"Is that so?" countered Haku, brushing off the massive amount of killer intent rolling off the genin. Sure, it was large, even when compared to most jounin level ninja, but Haku had grown up with a shinobi who practically leaked large amount of killer intent wherever he went as well as Naruto who when he unleashed his own, was terrifying, dwarfing his old sensei – which was no minor feat.

Without another word of warning, sand covered Haku's body as the genin raised his hand in a closed fist. In response, Haku quickly switched with a Mizu Bunshin he had created not too far from his location without the use of hand seals – something he had learned from Naruto – in case he found himself in a situation such as this.

"Sabaku Soso" he hissed in a deadly calm voice that sent shivers down his spine. What Haku observed next though made him raise both eyebrows in surprise; the sand that had ensnared his clone compressed instantly, crushing his clone in an impressive display of power that resulted in water dripping out from the bottom of the sand cocoon.

By this point, they had attracted the attention of the boy's teammates who heard the technique being uttered by the red haired sociopath. One of the two genin that arrived on the scene in a defensive position was a teenager who looked to be Haku's own age, if not slightly younger, with his face covered in battle paint to look like a Kabuki mask while the other was a female with sandy blonde hair tied in four scruffy pigtails with emerald green eyes. Haku visibly grimaced at the fashion sense of the older boy, Naruto, he knew, would have a field day if he saw him.

"What do you want with Gaara?" the female asked with a frown marring her features while the newly dubbed Gaara grabbed his head in pain and fell to the floor, muttering to himself as something seemed to be attacking his mind.

"I want nothing from him" replied Haku in, what he hoped was, a non threatening tone. He really didn't want to fight these three, especially someone as good looking as this girl was "he was the one who attacked me without provocation…" he replied before continuing "though judging by your reactions, or lack there of, to my statement, this seems to be a common occurrence…" he commented, trailing off at the end while patting himself on the back for a job well done as the two older shinobi's eyes widened ever so slightly.

­

"We apologize…he can be difficult at the best of times…" the girl said, apparently trying to avoid the boy hearing her declaration who was now trying to stand now that his head seemed to no longer be bothering him.

The boy in question, once standing once again, raised his arm in Haku's direction "Sabaku Kyu" he hissed.

Haku had to dodge another wave of sand as it attempted to swallow him while following his every move. With a frown, Haku used Shunshin to get behind the boy and press a pressure point in the space between his neck and shoulder, however, he gasped in surprise when instead of dropping in a faint, like most would, he shrugged it off and sent the wave of sand back in his direction.

Haku leapt back to avoid the sand yet again before frowning. This boy seemed to control sand and was also impervious to his pressure points being used against him – either he was able to use his chakra to block his pressure points being used against him, which he doubted as only experienced medic-nin could perform such a feat, or, he uses his sand to do more then just attack.

Haku looked to the boy's teammates before nodding "It seems your teammate is set on killing me, and I cannot let that happen…" he commented, dodging another wave of sand in the process, he just didn't think it wise to fight an opponent he knew nothing about, perhaps he should ask Naruto "perhaps we can meet again under more civil circumstances" he concluded, before seemingly sinking into the ground and disappearing from the Sand nin's eyes in a pool of water, which also evaporated once he had disappeared.

The two older genin gawked at the place where the masked boy disappeared from before turning in the direction of Gaara who grunted in annoyance "mother will have his blood…" he muttered under his breath, sending a shiver down his teammate's spines with the amount of killer intent he was leaking.

Gekko Hayate, while on his nightly walk, stumbled upon something that shocked him to his very core. The supposed invasion that was supposed to take place during the third phase of the Chunin exams has been bumped up ahead of schedule while Konoha's security was supposedly 'lax' due to the absence of three of their most powerful Shinobi; Hatake Kakashi, Jiraiya the Toad Sannin and Tsunade the Slug Sannin.

He had just finished up a wonderful night with his beautiful girlfriend and ANBU commander Uzuki Yugao which, as per normal, results in a late night, when he happened upon two shinobi, one with a Suna forehead protector and one with an Oto forehead protector stealthily making their way out of Konoha's walls to meet in secret. While they were conversing, Hayate decided to eavesdrop to see what exactly the two shinobi were meeting in secret and what he discovered had him so shocked that he didn't think twice about making his way to the Hokage tower at full speed.

As soon as he arrived, he was let into the Hokage's office by his secretary to find the Hokage already in a meeting with the head of the Hyuuga clan, Hyuuga Hiashi. The man, always proper and noble, looked miffed to say the least when Hayate happened upon their meeting, however, his high and mighty attitude could wait for now for all he cared.

"Hokage-sama" he began panting heavily as he spoke, all the while coughing between every few words as he was famous for doing "I overheard two shinobi conversing outside the walls of Konoha. I had trailed them thinking they seemed suspect, especially since one was a Suna shinobi and the other an Oto shinobi" he explained, easily grabbing the two powerful men's attention at the mention of the two invading nations "while making sure I wasn't spotted, I overheard the Oto shinobi telling the Suna shinobi to mobilize their forces tonight for the Oto shinobi were ready to begin the invasion. Apparently, they realized that their planned invasion had been discovered and wanted to surprise us when we were weakened as we are missing three of our strongest shinobi at this current time" he finished, while coughing severely for a few moments after the recent exertion on his lungs.

Without waiting, the Hokage pulled out a crystal ball and placed his hand over it before gazing into it – it seemed that Hiashi had expected this as he too peered into the ball. Frowning, Hayate took a look himself and he had to use all of his shinobi control to not gasp outright – for in the crystal ball he spied what seemed to be hundreds of Suna and Oto shinobi not a mile outside of Konoha's walls, all prepared to begin their invasion. The Hokage frowned slightly before leaping into action and mobilizing his forces.

Twenty minutes later, a thoroughly confused and annoyed Hokage stood at the main entrance to the village with both hands behind his back. To anyone who knew the old man, they would be able to tell that he was in deep thought. The reason for such actions were simple, the entire force of 'enemy shinobi' were simply a mixture of Kage Bunshin and regular Bunshin, harmless and useless. So, what was the purpose of this? Did Orochimaru want to unsettle the Konoha shinobi? Did he derive some sort of sick pleasure in seeing Konoha squirm and begin the evacuation procedures for no reason?

"A Diversion" was Nara Shikaku's input from beside him. The head of the Nara clan had long served as one of the Hokage's most trusted advisers, especially in combat situations. He may be referred to as 'The professor', but it always helped to have another mind aiding in such situation.

"What makes you say that Shikaku-kun?" asked the old Sarutobi, no joy or anger in his voice, mere neutrality.

­

"What Hayate-san saw earlier was probably another trick designed to make us believe the invasion was to begin earlier then expected. The culprit was likely expecting someone to suspect two shinobi from different nations sneaking off into the night and used that suspicion and our current state of nervousness to their advantage…though I don't know why…it's just so troublesome…" finished the lazy genius.

Sarutobi frowned in thought. What possible purpose would a diversion serve? The entire ANBU force were split in two, half within the city at strategically placed points, remaining hidden while the other lay in wait outside the walls, ready to counter-attack against any aggressors. Also, virtually every Chunin and Jounin was assigned to defense at every known entrance to the city…unless…

Sarutobi's eyes widened in shock, suddenly realizing what had just happened "Shikaku-kun, please recall every Chunin and Jounin and let them know that this was a false alarm, I will leave the ANBU to patrol where they are for a few hours yet just in case…I believe I know what is going on" he said, ignoring the annoyed sigh coming from the elder Nara man.

'_Most clever Naruto…but what are your intentions? Have you sided with my foolish ex-student?' _

Sarutobi arrived in his office as quickly as he could, alone, to see a sight that he did not expect to be seeing when he woke up this morning, for sitting in his very own chair was none other then Uzumaki Naruto, his unmistakable blonde hair poking out of a portfolio that was open as he read it, the folder serving to hide his face as he leaned back comfortably in his chair with his feet resting on his desk.

Getting in a slightly defensive stance by tensing all of his muscles, ready to move at any moment's notice, he was surprised when all Naruto did was speak in a calm and emotionless voice.

"Namikaze Minato, also known as the Yondaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, Konoha's Yellow Flash, Greatest Shinobi to ever be produced by Konoha, or, my father" he said, still seemingly reading from the portfolio, acting as if he didn't care at all that the most powerful Kage in the shinobi world was standing before him.

"Uzumaki Kushina, retired shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato, ex-ANBU captain, Jounin level shinobi and wife of Namikaze Minato. Upon learning of the circumstances of her husband's death and son's sacrifice, took her remaining daughter after handing in her resignation and left the village. She too, coincidently enough, is my mother" spoke Naruto, reading directly off the report.

It was at that moment that Naruto lowered the portfolio, gazing at the Hokage with indifference, which was weird in the old Sarutobi's opinion considering the boy had just learned his mother had virtually abandoned him and fled the village with his twin sister. Sarutobi had to exercise every bit of control over his emotions though to not flinch at the gaze that was leveled on him, those ruby red eyes of the Kyuubi peering at him, though they did not hold the malice of the originals.

"Odd how I grew up not knowing who my parents were while I was virtually the village's scapegoat for something I had no control over" he commented, dropping the folder on the desk and looking out the window to see several dozen shinobi scurrying about, no doubt because of his actions "Also odd how my…mother" he began, seemingly forcing the word out of his mouth "abandoned me, without a care of my wellbeing, and took a sibling I never knew I had away from me, my twin no less" he continued, while Sarutobi relaxed only slightly, sure that Naruto wouldn't attack him and confident enough in his abilities that even if he did, he would be fine.

"Do you know what it's like to feel like a part of you is missing? To feel as if you are incomplete while suffering from the pains of loneliness and despair?" he asked, his voice still as calm and indifferent as ever, no signs of any emotion, good or bad in his voice "No…I don't suppose you do"

"Were you the one that created that little show for us out there tonight Naruto?" Sarutobi asked, hoping to divert the situation. In response, all he got was a shrug of his shoulders as Naruto took the portfolio and sealed it into a random scroll on his belt, which was now in view now that he was not wearing his cloak. Once sealed, Naruto replaced the storage scroll in one of his scroll pouches above his behind.

"I honestly didn't expect for it to work as well as it did" he conceded "though I must admit, I was quite convincing was I not?" he answered, leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the desk that Sarutobi stood before. In response, Sarutobi just nodded with a slight amount of annoyance.

"Well?"

"Well what? You do realize you have committed a very serious crime by breaking into my office and stealing top secret documents, do you not?"

Naruto smirked, showing the first sign of emotion he had shown at all during the whole meeting, which unnerved Sarutobi slightly.

­

"Three things Sarutobi-san" he said, holding up three fingers to stress his point "Firstly, I have already switched myself with a clone and by now am already most likely out of the Village's walls" he said, still smirking and it was now that Sarutobi understood that Naruto was smirking – it was notoriously known that clones were said to have less control over their emotions and brain functions then their creators "two, I already am a criminal, or did you forget?" he asked, with indifference, yet the smirk was still in place "and third, the information in that scroll is mine by right anyway, and if you come up with some reason why it isn't, I really don't care – it's mine now" he said, shrugging and dropping the smirk.

Sarutobi winced slightly at the mention of Naruto's current status with Konoha, and also at the points he made, for they were all valid in their own way.

"Might I inquire as to why you are wearing the symbol of a Konoha shinobi? I do not recall you passing to become a genin of the leaf to warrant such a symbol" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"Oh this?" Naruto asked, pointing to the slashed forehead protector with a shrug "my hair is quite long, I need _something_ to keep it out of my eyes" he said with a shrug "and I was most certainly not going to let people think I was some foolish Konoha shinobi" he said, grinning slightly at Sarutobi's annoyed expression.

"That and I wanted to see your village's reaction when I was 'discovered' – what? You thought I would let Hatake-san discover my features because I was careless? Tut, tut, you shouldn't underestimate your _enemies_ Sarutobi-san, especially 'S' class criminals such as myself" he said with sarcasm while replying to the old man's confused look.

"What do you intend to do with that information now that you have it?" asked Sarutobi, cautiously, relaxing completely, there was no point in keeping his guard up, especially if the real Naruto was nowhere to be seen.

"You mean to ask if I want to kill her, do you not?" he asked, indifferently "I will have to find her first, won't I? The file is conveniently blank in regards to her current location, and as the Hokage at the time of her retirement, I know you know of her location at all times – you wouldn't let a powerful shinobi go without keeping tabs on her" he said, not showing any sign of annoyance in the slightest, however, Sarutobi was still worried for the Uzumaki woman.

"You should know" Sarutobi began "it was not my decision to make you an 'S' class criminal, to be honest, I had a hand time believing you were capable of the things Kakashi-kun informed me about – it was Anko-chan's description of your fight with Orochimaru that led to the majority of the council supporting the original's motion" he said, watching to see if he could spot any reaction, and he wasn't disappointed as Naruto just snorted in amusement.

"Yes, thank you for that by the way, letting my enemies know of my techniques" he said, not sounding like he cared at all for that matter "I'm sure Orochimaru will be most cautious next time we meet about my Genjutsu capabilities – for that, I thank you" he said.

Sarutobi sighed and rubbed his temples "For what it's worth Naruto-kun…" he began, sounding every bit as old as he was "I apologize" he admitted, sounding defeated.

"Why?" was Naruto's surprising remark "you did nothing wrong, in fact, by your inaction, I was able to leave this pathetic village" he said, motioning to Konoha through the window "and become strong under my late sensei, for that, I should probably thank you instead of you apologizing, however, I'd rather not argue over semantics" he admitted with a shrug.

Before dispelling himself, Naruto locked gazes with the Hokage one last time and nodded "Good luck with the invasion Sarutobi-san" and just like that, he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

After Naruto left, Sarutobi sat down in his chair heavily with a sigh. Naruto was indeed smart and most likely dangerous to anyone who makes him their enemy. Deciding to do what he normally did when trying to relax; he walked over to the portrait of the Yondaime and swiped some blood over a special seal hidden in the picture which revealed a safe. Opening the safe, he was shocked to see it completely empty, which cause the old Hokage to pale considerably.

'_Why, that no good, thieving, son of a bitch, mother fucking smart-ass, piece of shit…' _Sarutobi ranted in his mind at the blonde youth, for Naruto had not only taken a top secret document about his origins, but he had swiped his entire 'Icha Icha' stash. If there was one thing Sarutobi was sure of now, it was that Naruto _had_ to be evil.

Anko currently sat in one of Konoha's most popular bars doing what she normally does when she has something on her mind that is troubling her; drink until she got absolutely shit faced.

Ever since being showed up by that Uzumaki brat when fighting Orochimaru so easily she had gained a sudden extreme dislike for the boy and ever since then, the twenty five year old had spent several nights dreaming wonderful dreams of torture involving the maiming and killing of said brat. Indeed, Mitarashi Anko was a sadist and she was ­

damn proud of it, it kept the less savory villagers off of her back when they decided they wanted to vent their anger on the resident 'snake whore'.

Just as she was about to polish off the next bottle of sake, she was interrupted from enjoying the heavenly substance when her friend, Yuhi Kurenai, sat down beside her and motioned for the bartender to get her a shot of Kumo's famous alcoholic beverage 'Bolt' as per usual.

"What's up Kurenai-chan?" Anko asked in a slurred tone letting it be known that she was quite far gone already.

"Nothing much Anko, I just got done with training my genin team for the day, I swear, ever since Kiba went on a date with this 'mystery babe' he keeps gloating about he has become even more intolerable – if that's even possible" she said with a sigh as Anko giggled drunkenly at her best friend's predicament.

"You should do what I told you to do" Anko began, taking another sip of her saki before continuing "neuter the dog-boy now so he doesn't cause any of us sexy kunoichi any problems when his balls drop" she said crudely making Kurenai snort in amusement. She may not approve of her friend's crude humor or sadistic ways, but sometimes she imagined giving in to the 'dark side' and doing exactly as she suggests – it was a wonderful dream if anything.

"I swear Anko, if he keeps going the way he is I just might – the way he's been talking about her body and what he's apparently seen, I can tell he'll become a grade 'A' pervert" she said with a sigh "if I have to listen to him talking about her 'perfect ass' or her 'gorgeous jugs' I'll just have to let it slip to his mother and sister just how much of a pervert he's becoming" she said, with a sadistic smirk that looked out of place on the 'ice-queen's' normally stoic features.

Anko let out a loud snort of amusement when the mental picture ran through her mind before turning a smirk on her friend "You really are becoming more and more like me Kurenai-chan" she said, as the images of Kiba's mother Tsume and sister Hana chasing him around with a pair of scissors while throwing kunai at his privates flashed through her mind's eye.

"So, how're things with you?" asked Kurenai, now that she had sufficiently ranted enough to calm down sufficiently.

"Oh, just peachy" she replies, with another 'un-lady' like snort before taking another sip "just the usual, dreaming about the torture I intend on giving to a certain Uzumaki brat the next time I see him, that prick" she said wit ha sneer as she continued to drink "he thinks he's so cool, what, with his Pocky and straw hat, I swear, the first thing I'll do is shove a few pocky sticks up his ass and make him eat them afterwards, Kukuku" she ranted, as Kurenai listened patiently, already used to her friend's usually grotesque torture methods that she had no idea how she could derive pleasure from.

"Ohayo Kurenai-chan, Anko-chan" greeted another voice before plopping down on the seat beside Kurenai and ordering a bottle of sake. Anko watched with a raised eyebrow as the newcomer went to lean in as if to kiss Kurenai before checking himself and pulling back after seemingly noticing his surroundings. She also had to stifle a laugh when Kurenai did the same before blushing slightly and looking away from the newcomer, hoping to save her 'reputation' just in case someone noticed.

"Smooth Monkey-boy, real smooth" commented Anko as the cigarette in Sarutobi Asuma's mouth dropped from his mouth onto the bench and Kurenai flushed with embarrassment.

"I have no idea what you're talking about Anko-chan" Kurenai stated firmly, after making sure she was no longer blushing from embarrassment. Asuma just replaced the cigarette in his mouth before chuckling nervously "Yeah, what the lady said".

"Right" Anko replied with a snort "if it was any more obvious, I would probably have to start sending out wedding invitations" she said with amusement, enjoying how uncomfortable her best friend and her not-so-secret boyfriend were getting.

"At least we talk about something other then the topic of each other twenty four hours of the day" replied Kurenai with a small smirk "I mean, at least we don't dream about our object of interest every night either" Kurenai finished with a large smirk as Asuma coughed loudly to try and clear his throat of…something.

Anko put down her sake and glared back at Kurenai "I hope you're not implying what I think you're implying" she said in a dangerous tone that usually promised pain to anyone who continued to speak after it was administered, luckily for Kurenai, she was exempt from most of the dangerous tortures her friend would dish out on her.

"Well, that all depends on what you think I'm implying Anko-chan" shot back Kurenai, her smirk only getting larger. It felt good to make someone else uncomfortable, especially if that someone else was none other then Mitarashi Anko.

­

"That's it teme, you're going down" Anko snarled, jumping up from her stool and threatening to clobber Kurenai however she was aptly defeated by gravity and fell head first into the ground, most likely a result of her being well on her way to being shit faced.

While Anko was groaning and kissing the hard wood of the bar floor, she saw Kurenai about to open her mouth to comment and stopped it by throwing a kunai in her direction and nicking her cheek "Make one stupid joke about me being 'head over heals' and I swear to Kami, the next time you and Asu-chan are getting freaky, I'll personally stick as many snakes as I can into each of your bodily orifices – trust me, it will hurt and I will enjoy it" Anko said, glaring with fury at the two people who _must_ have been responsible for her making a fool of herself.

"Hey, what the hell did I do?!" asked Asuma with indignation while Kurenai just slapped her forehead and moaned in despair, Asuma should know better then to question a pissed off Anko.

"What did you say teme?" Anko asked from behind Asuma, still sober enough to Shunshin behind the bearded jounin and aim a kunai right at his crotch.

Knowing that the next few words he says will determine whether or not he'll ever had kids again, Asuma stuttered out a response "N-nothing a-at all, A-Anko-sama. I was wrong to question you" he finished, hoping to god that was enough to placate the dangerous woman.

Anko grinned with approval at his response. She had felt that she didn't have it in her to be fearsome anymore when a brat that was barely in his teens could stand up to her and not show an ounce of fear – it was good to know that she still instilled fear thought she vowed to get the Uzumaki brat to beg her for mercy the next time they met.

Orochimaru sat in his 'throne room' at Otogakure no Sato stewing over his recent encounter with the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. Out of all the abilities he was expecting when the child inevitably sought him out, he did not expect to encounter bugs similar to the kind of an Aburame clan member who have a symbiotic relationship with insects so they can use them in combat.

Imagine his surprise when one of his loyal followers brings him the new version of the Bingo book which always is re-released monthly with the newest info on bounties to be claimed on missing-nin and other criminals, only to find information about this new enemy. Uzumaki Naruto, the boy was apparently capable of performing Genjutsu of the highest caliber without the use of hand seals, add to that the ability he no doubt inherited from his ex-sensei, he would be a strong opponent indeed.

When he first read about the ability the boy possessed, he immediately thought of the Sharingan, but he stopped considering that possibility when he remembered who the child's parents were, neither of whom were Uchiha. Nevertheless, the ability he possesses is no doubt a by-product of his tenant, a Kitsune and by nature, a master of illusions. This piqued his interests as if he could get someone of such caliber to work for him, he would become even more deadly and not even his old associates at the Akatsuki would attack him without thinking twice.

As he thought about the Akatsuki, he glanced sideways to a jar with an old wrinkled hand in it with the Akatsuki ring still attached to it before the images of how that incident happened flashed through his mind – Uchiha Itachi slicing off his arm when Orochimaru first left Akatsuki, no doubt ordered to by their esteemed leader.

As Orochimaru continued to brood about his past and his plans for the not too distant future, he was interrupted when there was a knock at the door of his chambers.

"Enter" he hissed out dangerously, he always welcomed people like this so they immediately knew not to test his patience.

Yakushi Kabuto, his trusty spy in Konoha walked through the door and bowed low. It was the fact that he valued the youth's abilities that saved him from the treatment the rest of his followers received.

"Orochimaru-sama" greeted Kabuto as he readjusted his glasses by pushing them up the bridge of his nose with two fingers, causing the lenses to shine. This caused Orochimaru to chuckle, that had become a trademark of Kabuto's to cause his glasses to shine like that, it was a way they unofficially signaled each other so that if ever Kabuto was compromised, Orochimaru would know immediately.

"What is it Kabuto?" Orochimaru asked, he may value his skills, but no one was safe from his wrath when he was in a bad mood and the boy could pretty much heal any of the injuries he sustains nearly instantly anyway.

"There was an incident last night in Konoha, one that I thought should be brought to your attention" he supplied, now standing and leaning against the wall while addressing his superior.

­

"Do go on" Orochimaru urged, knowing that Kabuto never left his post unless it was important so by product, this would indeed interest him.

"Last night, somebody created a diversion for all of Konoha's shinobi to be distracted by with the use of hundreds of Bunshin disguised as Suna and Oto shinobi" he said simply and Orochimaru immediately knew the importance of this. Not only would Konoha be prepared for a possible alliance between the two nations, they would be prepared for an attack, but what bothered him was the purpose behind such a diversion, was somebody under his command trying to gain favor by jump starting his carefully thought out operations? That person will pay dearly indeed.

As Kabuto watched his master stew on that information, he decided he had waited long enough in silence and continued "Orochimaru-sama, they were done with the use of mainly several dozen Kage Bunshin disguised to look like our shinobi" he supplied before continuing "which means that it was more then one person or…"

"Someone who has enough chakra and stamina to summon such a large number of Kage Bunshin" he finished, his eyes flashing dangerously and Kabuto instantly knew he had to watch what he said now, his master was angry and whenever he was angry, bad things happened "How is it that the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki knows of our plans?" he hissed out menacingly.

"If I were to hazard a guess Orochimaru-sama" he began, getting a nod from his master to continue "His _previous_ sensei" he began with a smirk that was mirrored by Orochimaru, both enjoying having done away with the troublesome puppet master "was always well informed about the happenings of all the shinobi nations, perhaps Naruto-kun has his own spy network, or maybe he has something similar to what your old partner had with me in various important and high up shinobi, either way, I think it is safe to say that he knows and now, we can be certain Konoha knows too" he supplied, hoping Orochimaru wouldn't deem it necessary to throttle him, even if he saw no reason to be punished, Orochimaru usually found one.

"Kukukuku" Orochimaru began, chuckling evilly before breaking out in maniacal laughter that sent shivers down his spine, it was just creepy "Naruto-kun is indeed impressive" he said with a wide grin before his overly large snake like tongue came out of his mouth and licked at the side of his face "I will have him and the powers of the Kyuubi under my control soon" he finished, all traces of humor gone while Kabuto smirked along with his master.

Author's Note: 

This came later then expected and I have a few reasons:

I was having trouble thinking how I was going to play out the invasion part of the Chunin exams, mainly where Gaara and the Suna sibs are involved. I have an idea of what I want to happen now and I only hope that it is fresh and believable, as with the rest of my story.

Also, I suddenly had a spastic urge that I had to force down to write a new story. I don't know if it happens often but as I was writing this chapter, as well as watching certain movies, I had ideas for two new stories, one Harry Potter and the other another Naruto story. I'm probably going to write the Harry Potter one as I'm just as disappointed, more so then with Naruto fanfiction, at the lack of quality in recent stories in that category. That story will be mega long going from his birth to beyond seventh year.

Lastly, I got a new keyboard because my old one broke down and I threw it out the window – I might have overreacted slightly, yes – and I needed to get used to writing with the new keyboard. I don't know if this happens with other people, but I just can't write as well with different keyboards, so I had to get used to it. I used my leet ninja skills to get my writing up to the same speed as before and there shouldn't be a problem with that again.

Reviews and what not. Adios.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Subaku no Gaara

Chapter 9: Subaku no Gaara

Sarutobi sighed for the umpteenth time that day, he had been doing so constantly it seemed ever since his confrontation with Naruto the other week as encounter with the blonde haired 'criminal' played on his mind almost constantly – it was getting to the point where his own secretary was worrying over him as he seemingly spaced out at random intervals constantly, but could anyone really blame him? Not if they knew what was in his mind.

Naruto had been able to successfully infiltrate the Hokage's personal vault for all his top secret information and village secrets while they were supposedly on 'alert' status and steal documents that were specifically kept hidden so that those to which the document pertained would remain safe from people who may wish anyone related to the Yondaime harm.

Never in all these years did Sarutobi think that the vault would be broken in to, let alone that specific file taken compared to all the other possible files that could be taken, and again, lastly, he most definitely did not expect for the person to take the file to be another person to whom the information within the file also referred to.

The aged Hokage was worried, simply because he couldn't read Naruto's motives like he usually was able to with most of his opponents. That was how he got his title as the 'Professor', he was known for being able to dissect his opponents and find their weaknesses, thereby being able to exploit them while avoiding their strengths. Naruto was an enigma to him; he never let his emotions regarding any of the issues they talked about show through and though he came off as dangerous, never once did he get angry, sad, happy or aggressive. Also, he had shown some of his skills in Genjutsu with the masterful control over the branch of techniques, Ninjutsu with the sheer amount of Kage Bunshin he was able to create and his usage of puppets in the land of wave along with the information on who his sensei was led him to believe that he would be quite skilled in Kugutsu also.

Just as he was about to begin his dreaded paperwork for the day again, he was interrupted when he sensed someone entered his office through the window. Only one person would have the audacity to enter his office in such a manner and he was expecting him to arrive soon also.

"It's nice that you could finally make it Jiraiya-kun" greeted Sarutobi, swiveling around in his chair to face the tall toad sannin "it's been nearly ten years since we've last spoken, how have you been?" he greeted pleasantly.

"Cut with the pleasantries old man" began an irate Jiraiya "I was conducting some very important research in Kumo when you sent for me" he began with a serious face "do you have _any_ idea how hard it was to be able to find a position to be able to peep on the wonderful Kumo kunoichi" he suddenly wined with a blush on his face as he looked seemingly at nothing, trying to remember what he had seen "those wonderful breasts, shapely curves, hair like silk…" he let out a lecherous giggle as he focused back on Sarutobi who also seemed to be slightly flushed. If there was one thing Sarutobi would admit about his old student, he had an incredible talent for writing and he almost felt slightly ashamed from pulling him from his research.

"As ashamed as I am that I had to pull you from such wonderful research" began Sarutobi, coughing to hide the fact that he was blushing from his student who was giving him a knowing smirk "a serious issue has arisen that I believe you would want to know about" he said seriously as Jiraiya waved him off.

"I already know about Orochi-teme" he began "I was under the impression that he was going to attack during the third phase of the chunin exams though, so why call me now?"

"That is not what I'm talking about Jiraiya-kun" began Sarutobi "It's about Naruto-kun, surely you've seen the latest Bingo books and the price the council have placed on his head" he said, gesturing to a small book sitting on his desk which Jiraiya briefly looked at, his face skeptical before nodding.

"An Uchiha that killed his family and obtained the Mangekyou is one thing" he began "but I seriously doubt the gaki is enough of a threat to warrant 'S' class status and I find his abilities listed in the book to be a little farfetched" he said "what does he have to do with this though? You trying to get him to become a Konoha shinobi or something?" he asked, confused.

"Jiraiya-kun, I assure you" Sarutobi began with a serious face "he may not be a threat, but his skills are, if anything, underplayed in the Bingo book" he said, to Jiraiya shock before explaining what Naruto had done and what files he was able to obtain before escaping.

"Have you contacted Kushina recently?" Jiraiya asked with a serious tone, after hearing about the blonde Jinchuuriki's exploits and what information he now had at his disposal.

"I have not been able to, no" began Sarutobi "It seems she has hidden herself well from the rest of the world, but with the information Naruto-kun now has, I doubt it will take him that long to find her, especially my assumption of his skill is correct…"

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Jiraiya nodded, seemingly in thought before continuing "The main reason I have not contacted you in the last ten years is because I was, and still am, performing a favor for Kushina-chan" he began "three years after Kushina-chan left Konoha, her daughter was kidnapped right from her bed and by the time she realized, it was already too late, she had lost her" he stated, with a somber face while Sarutobi was shocked at this information, how had he not known this?

"For the past decade or so, I've been searching for clues of her whereabouts as well as spying on a top secret organization by the name of Akatsuki, whom you should already know about from the information I have sent you in my reports" he said, as Sarutobi nodded dismissively, he was more interested in Kushina right now.

"What do you think of Naruto possibly finding out about his mother's location?" asked Sarutobi warily as Jiraiya leaned against the wall of the office and closed his eyes, deep in thought.

"Honestly?" Jiraiya began "I'm not sure, you can't blame the kid if he truly does hate her, but then again, from what you told me, he didn't seem like one to hate so easily" he said, pausing before continuing again "they both _are_ twins" he said, obviously referring to Naruto and his unknown sibling "perhaps he is looking for her rather than his mother, you know what they say about twins, they share a special bond and all" he said, shrugging "Besides, I don't see how Naruto could possibly _hate_ his mother enough to want to kill her, sure the early years of his life were probably bad, but the majority of his life was spent away from the village and despite what you all may think about Sasori, he wasn't a bad person, a little…disturbing, but he wasn't necessarily bad" he explained "so I doubt Naruto would be all that aggressive, though if what you say is true, he does seem like an excellent shinobi, so I have no doubt that he may just find her" he concluded while Sarutobi seemed to have mixed feelings on the matter.

"You'll warn Kushina won't you?" asked Sarutobi as Jiraiya shrugged in response "I'll let Gamakichi know as soon as possible" he began "she can summon toads to thanks to Arashi and we keep in contact through Gamakichi, he can tell her next time she summons him, but I honestly think there's nothing to worry about" he paused "but even if there is, she wasn't an ANBU captain for nothing" he said before smiling "it seems her gaki has inherited her ridiculously large amounts of stamina though his personality is definitely not like hers or Minato's, thought I guess that can be attributed to Sasori" he said, smirking at the memory of his ex-apprentice and his wife.

"She has been out of practice for nearly a decade though and Naruto was able make Orochimaru flee in the forest of death" he said, this was news to Jiraiya however, for the Sandaime failed to mention that.

"He did what?" he asked and Sarutobi blushed slightly at his forgetfulness and proceeded to explain what Anko had reported to them about what happened in the forest of death as Jiraiya let out a loud laugh.

"I'm sorry old man" he began, wiping a tear from his eye "but anyone that can make Orochi-teme look like a novice is alright by my book" he said as he cracked up laughing again "I can't believe he just ate Pocky while staring down that teme" he said before cracking up again, even the Sandaime had to hide a smile by tilting his head down so the rim of his Hokage's had was covering his face – it was indeed amusing.

"You're not bothered that he seems to have the eyes of the Kyuubi?" asked Sarutobi, interested to have another opinion on the matter "it could be a sign that the fox is influencing Naruto-kun's actions"

Jiraiya merely shrugged "It's possible" he agreed "but you said yourself that not once did any of the people who have made contact with him could feel the Kyuubi's vile chakra, even in the slightest" he said, seemingly deep in thought "and for him to be able to become a puppeteer, he would need impeccable control, something Kyuubi probably wouldn't bother with as it seemed quite happy with slinging its power around with no finesse what-so-ever when attacking Konoha" he said, pausing again before continuing "If I had to hazard a guess, I would say that Naruto probably tampered with the seal to purposefully unlock some of Kyuubi's powers, seeing how his eyes were 'red' as you say, I think it's safe to say that he altered the seal so he could use some, if not all, of the fox's senses" he concluded "dangerous, but if he was successful, I think it's safe to say that you can add another field our 'criminal' friend is quite skilled at for only someone who is _very_ knowledgeable with seals could modify the Shiki Fuin placed on his navel to hold the fox" he said, concluding.

Sarutobi seemed to be in thought for a few moments before speaking "Can you try and make contact with him?" asked Sarutobi "try to find out his motives and try to explain Kushina's decision to him, so that he understands before confronting her, and if worse comes to worse, you can stop him if his intention are to indeed cause her harm" he said, causing Jiraiya to sigh with irritation but he nodded nonetheless.

"I'll do my best" he conceded.

"That's all I can ask of you Jiraiya-kun, now, I believe you have some research to conduct?" the Hokage supplied with a lecherous grin that was mirrored on Jiraiya's face before the legendary sannin disappeared in a puff of smoke to conduct said 'research'.

Naruto stood, waiting, in the specified clearing for Haku that they had agreed to meet in a week before the third task before splitting up to do their own things. The clearing was one behind the Hokage Monument in a forest that was ­

perfect to meet in without having eavesdroppers possibly try to listen in on the conversation or apprehend them by sneaking up on them – not that that was possible to do with Naruto. The reason the clearing in the forest was perfect for meeting was because of the large waterfall he currently stood beside, allowing the crushing sounds of water hitting water and rocks to wash over him as he used his heightened sense of smell to tell whether he had any company incoming. He picked up the scent of the metal used to make Haku's Senbon needles and, much to Naruto's amusement, the scent of a very 'manly' type of cologne – who was the boy trying to fool? Naruto mused as he waited patiently for him to arrive on the scene.

When he was close enough to do so, Haku appeared before him rising up from the stream the waterfall crushed into completely dry. It still intrigued Naruto the level in which Haku could now control his bloodline, how he was able to move between bodies of water as if they were interconnected by some threads that he follows – it was very useful and Haku didn't hide the fact that he abused the right to do so as much as possible, not that either cared for that matter.

"How are things?" began Naruto "I can smell your new choice of cologne; your new partner trying to track you by scent now are they?" he said, clearly amusement lining his voice while Haku just growled at him in a threatening manner, though that didn't stop Naruto "I have heard on the Konoha 'rumor mill' that this…Kiba…has proclaimed that you have quite impressive…jugs…and beautifully feminine legs…I believe were his words" he said, barely containing his amusement "been flashing the boy some flesh have you Haku-chan? I thought you had better self-control and morals then to throw yourself so easily at the boy on your first date, perhaps practicing some restraint is in order, or is it perhaps love at first sight and such things not possible?" he asked, taking out a stick of Pocky and shoving it in his mouth as a means of congratulating himself for his quick wit.

Haku continued to growl and glare daggers at his comrade through his white porcelain mask that he still used to cover his face when not trying to blend in had to restrain himself from attempting to leap at the younger boy and maul him, it would be very satisfying, yet Haku knew it would be an admission of some sorts that Naruto had won and gotten under his skin, and he could _not_ have that.

"What was all this fiasco about a possibly early invasion I heard about last week? Does it tie in with your 'personal' mission?" Haku asked, diverting Naruto's attention away from himself and onto, in his opinion, more important issues.

Naruto gripped the brim of his straw hat and lowered it slightly so that his eyes and face were more shadowed then they were before speaking "Aa, I have what I need" he said, in a tone that Haku knew meant there was no more to be said on the matter "how has your time in the leaf been, aside from the obvious?" countered Naruto, not being able to help himself from making another jab at Haku's 'relationship'.

Ignoring the Jab, Haku continued "I ran into one of the genin teams" he began "they were quite interesting, the ones from Suna" he said, pausing to see if Naruto was listening. When he met Naruto's faze to see two shadowed red slitted eyes he continued "one of them intrigues me, and I swear to Kami Naruto, this is no time for jokes, he has red hair and a tattoo of the kanji for 'Love' on his forehead. He seemed to have an indescribable urge to kill me and take my blood for his _'mother'_?" he said confused, not noticing the slight narrowing of Naruto's eyes "he seemed off…familiar yet strange at the same time, do you have any information on him?"

Naruto stood in silence for a moment before taking out some slips of paper, his sealing brush and an ink pot. Laying the paper on the ground, he began to paint some intricate seals that even Haku with his mediocre knowledge of seals had no idea what they meant before speaking.

"The boy you speak of, his name is Subaku no Gaara and he is like me, a Jinchuuriki" explained Naruto, not pausing in his seal work while explaining to Haku what he knew "he hold within him the Suna no Shukaku, however, unlike myself, he chooses to use the demon's power where I chose not to" he explained to a listening Haku "the Shukaku is known for its control over the sand, thus his tenant having that same ability is no real surprise – what I did find surprising is the information I received some time ago as to _how_ the demon was sealed into Gaara-san" he paused before continuing "Prior to Gaara's birth, Sunagakure saw a series of budget cuts that made it difficult for the village to operate. As a result, Gaara's father ordered Chiyo, an elder of Sunagakure no Sato and an experienced kunoichi, to seal the Ichibi no Shukaku within Gaara during his birth in the hopes that he would become the ultimate weapon for the village. Because a sacrifice was needed, Gaara's mother, Karura, was used. Before she died, Karura cursed Sunagakure, hoping Gaara would avenge her death. As with the other demon hosts, Gaara acquired a physical trait of the tailed beast inside him - in his case, dark rings around his eyes resembling those of the Shukaku, much like my whisker like tattoos on my cheeks that Kyuubi possesses. These rings are also indicative of his insomnia--he cannot sleep, or else the Shukaku will consume his personality" he explained, still painting seals on the slip of paper carefully while explaining to Haku what he knew of Gaara.

"Not much is known about his life for its highly classified, though from what I do know, the Yondaime Kazekage sees his own son as a threat to the villagers and a failed experiment, thus, since the ages of six and twelve, he has sent assassins after his head in an attempt to kill the boy and correct his own 'mistake'. Luckily or unluckily for Gaara, whichever way you look at it, he was able to deal with every assassination attempt with ease save for the first one, his uncle, Yashamaru, who seemed to be the only one who cared for the boy stabbed him in the back and attempted to kill him. Such actions would not play well on a six year old's psyche, so once again, we see the foolishness of a hidden village in hating something they themselves created" he concluded, finishing up the seals and leaving it for a while so it could dry.

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"From what you've told me, he seems to be unstable, these seal tags will serve to drain him of any of his demonic chakra and thus relinquish his hold on the sand – I know how you are and you most likely will want to speak with him. Just slap one of these with some chakra on his forehead and he will temporarily be completely sealed off from his bijou. Do not compromise us though, if they attempt to attack you, flee, we do not need to draw attention to ourselves" he finished to a stunned Haku who nodded silently before taking the batch of seal tags Naruto had just made and pocketing them as they headed their separate ways.

In a dark and damp cave in an undisclosed location in Tea country sat Orochimaru on his throne with five of his most 'trusted' subordinates. Trusted being the term used liberally as he merely had ways to control them so he had no need to worry about them defying him.

"Are your plans for the invasion changing Orochimaru-sama?" asked Kabuto, with four of Orochimaru's elite guards by his side. They were referred to as the 'Sound four' all of whom have the curse seal and are able to control and use its power.

"There will only be one small change Kabuto-kun" he replied, amusement in his voice "I have devised a new type of Curse Seal that will work specifically on Naruto-kun, forcibly drawing on his demonic chakra to cloud his mind and judgement, in doing so, he will become the perfect soldier to my cause" he said, chuckling, he was quite proud of his achievements regarding the curse seal. Not only was he lucky enough to happen on a mysterious test subject that could produce enzymes in his blood that increase one's power, he was able to harvest that ability from his test subject's blood and if that wasn't enough, he could give that ability to whomever he chooses and at the same time, warp their minds so they will become loyal followers.

"Are you going to be leaving for Sunagakure soon Orochimaru-sama?" asked Kabuto, the official spokesperson for the five of Orochimaru's elite squadron, the others really not wanting to talk in case they accidentally say something to incur the snake sannin's wrath.

"Aa, I will arrive in Suna in two days time where my plans will commence – make sure you five are in position when the third phase of the Chunin exams begin, Kukukuku" he said, finishing with an evil cackle.

"By this time next week, Konoha will be in ruin!" he finished, unbridled glee in his voice.

Naruto decided that he needed something to eat and even though Pocky was the food of the gods, bar none, there was something that came a distant second, his first love, Ramen. Naruto barely remembered his younger years that he spent here, but what he did remember was a nice old man and his daughter treating him to Ramen on occasion and giving him a safe place to eat and hang out to escape from the harshness of the villagers.

Walking around until he found the store, he noticed that it was slightly empty; however, seeing that it was still a half an hour before a decent 'lunch' time, he figured people will start coming soon.

Taking one of the free seats, Naruto waited until he was served, once again using the disguise of the old man or 'Haku-chan's father' that the Mitarashi woman had seen through. Eventually, a pretty young woman came to him with a smile from the back of the store, though Naruto couldn't for the life of him remember her name.

"Can I take your order Oyaji?" she asked pleasantly as Naruto returned a small smile under disguise, Uzumaki Naruto does not smile this easily when not disguised!

"Please, my name is Mizuna Ukaruto, I'll just have a bowl of miso Ramen please, large" he said, still smiling at the young girl who nodded and yelled his order to her father out back before returning to him all smiles.

"It won't be long Mizuna-san" she replied before getting a rag and cleaning the rest of the unoccupied counter.

After waiting for only two minutes, Naruto was happily eating his ramen when he smelt someone familiar taking a seat beside him with a few other people who had seen walking around the village on occasion.

"Ohayo Ayame-chan, one Beef Ramen for me and a few strips of pork for Akamaru" ordered Inuzuka Kiba with a canine like grin as Ayame smiled in response and took the other orders. One of the others with the Inuzuka was definitely an Aburame if the smell of insects and the slight buzzing he could hear from within his cloak was anything to go by and judging by the eyes of his other friend, she was definitely a Hyuuga. The last person with the group was most likely their jounin instructor, someone who he recognized as Yuhi Kurenai, Genjutsu mistress of Konoha. He had to suppress a snort at that, Genjutsu mistress indeed, she may be decent at using the style of jutsu, but to warrant the title of mistress, he'll believe it when he sees it.

Normally, someone under a chakra induced disguised would be worried about sitting next to a team that was obviously meant for tracking and seeing through such disguises, luckily for him, he was most likely better then all four of them at stealth, having used a Kage Henge which literally gave him the physical appearance he desired instead of ­

just an illusion as well as his scent not being recognizable as Uzumaki Naruto's thanks to the Inuzuka knowing nothing about him. The Jounin might suspect something though, especially by the twitch he made in his direction, though he still wasn't worried.

"Man, I still haven't found that hot babe that I went out with the other week, she was such an angel" commented the dog boy, causing Naruto to choke slightly on his Ramen, which did not go unnoticed by the four shinobi sitting beside him.

"Oi, Oyaji, you ok?" asked Kiba, seemingly concerned and a look around the bench showed that the Hyuuga and Aburame seemed to not care less while Kurenai was looking at him with apprehension, perhaps Anko told her about his Doku Bunshin?

"Ah, you're the lad that took my _son_ out for a date, it's so wonderful when two people so young and sure of their sexualities can rise above prejudice and show their love for each other" commented 'Mizuna Ukaruto' with a big smile seemingly ignoring how Kiba had a confused look on his face, the Aburame who now decided to look in his direction, apparently the conversation interesting him now and the Hyuuga smirking at the dog boy. Kurenai seemed to be trying to hide her amusement though still seemed apprehensive in regards to him.

"What the hell are you talking about Oyaji, I went on a date with your beautiful _daughter_, a girl, not a boy; I would have known if it was a guy, I'm an Inuzaka after all" he said, apparently gaining his confidence back.

Naruto pretended to get angry at that and levelled a glare at the Inuzaka "Either you're a really poor Inuzaka" he said, making Kiba glare in his direction "Or you're trying to shame my son by denying the love you have for each other, I don't appreciate people toying with my son's feelings, he is already living in a harsh world confused and scared at how people make fun of him due to his sexual orientation!" he hissed out, and turned back to his Ramen.

"And Haku-chan was saying how you two seemed to hit it off real well too, talking about the kiss you shared that sent an electrical pulse through his young body" he commented with a wistful sigh. At this point, Kiba's face drained of all colour and his face had gone a pale white in either shock, horror, revulsion or shame, Naruto couldn't tell, though it was probably a mixture of the four.

"Y-you're l-lying" the dog boy stuttered out as Naruto levelled a glare at the dog boy "You think my son's sexual orientation is a joke do you?" he said standing up in anger which for some reason, caused Kiba to shrink under his gaze, even though he knew he was merely facing an old civilian, as far as he knew.

"So Kiba-kun, care to tell us how well that date went? How soft your date's lips felt? How luscious your date's legs looked? How great _his_ 'ass' looked?" Kurenai asked with a vicious smirk, obviously deciding that Naruto was not a threat, or perhaps she hadn't figured out it was him exactly and merely someone in disguise, all the same, Naruto left a check under his fake name with a hefty tip as gratitude for the earlier years of his life and left with one final glare at the still pale Kiba who hadn't moved an inch as the Hyuuga was still smirking at him and his sensei still goading him about his fake accomplishment.

When Ayame came back out to see the seat of the old man's empty, she frowned thinking he had done a runner, however she caught sight of a slip of paper which she recognized as a cheque and upon reading it, she recognized the name before looking at the figure on the cheque.

Teuchi Ichiraku was whistling a tune while preparing four bowls of Ramen when he abruptly stopped upon hearing his daughter gasp followed by a loud thump. Running out of the back he saw his daughter lying on the ground with a big smile on her face while clutching a cheque to her chest with both hands. Getting curious despite himself, he pried the cheque from her still fingers and read what was so amazing on it; perhaps they got a nice tip? When he saw the number on the cheque he let out an extremely loud whoop of joy.

"THAT'S A LOTTA ZEROES!" he yelled, dollar signs in his eyes. When he showed them to the students and Kurenai, they too had similar reaction of shock but Kurenai for different reasons.

"Teuchi-san, can I see that name on the cheque and borrow a pencil please?" nodding while holding the cheque far enough away from her so she could see but not touch, Kurenai wrote the name down and after several minutes of scribbling on the piece of paper, she showed it to the old man who read it but could only make sense of two names amongst all the scribbles.

'_Mizuna Ukaruto' _and _'Uzumaki Naruto'_.

Looking from the piece of paper to Kurenai back to the piece of paper he just looked at her in confusion "You saying that old man was Naruto? I haven't seen him for nearly ten years, but that was an old man!"

Kurenai shrugged while looking off in the direction Naruto left in "He was under a combination of Genjutsu and Henge, I suspected it was Uzumaki but I wasn't sure, that name proves it though, it seems he likes you" she said with a calculative look in her eyes urging Teuchi to explain.

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"Well, I don't know, when Naruto was younger he'd come by often and we'd keep him company, the poor boy had no friends and spent a lot of time here with Ayame-chan" he said, motioning to the still unconscious girl on the floor "while we supplied him with free meals now and again – rotten how the villagers treated him I tell ya" he said, causing Kurenai to frown. There was more to this 'Uzumaki Naruto' then meets the eye.

Haku looked through the window of a hotel room in one of the hotels rented out to foreign genin and their senseis coming to take the chunin exams. In the room he was looking in sat the genin Subaku no Gaara, meditating and seemingly oblivious to all that was around him, however, Haku knew better, Haku could tell by the twitch in the boy's eye as soon as he arrived that he knew damn well that he was sitting here and by the growing amount of killing intent radiating from his body, he could tell that he was getting an 'urge' to come and kill him again.

His two team mates and siblings sat in the same room eyeing their brother warily as the killing intent rose but Haku just waited patiently for a few more minutes until he began to walk away from the hotel and towards one of Konoha's vacant training grounds.

Haku was not disappointed for two minutes after his arrival at the training grounds Gaara appeared in a swirl of sand looking as stoic as ever though the killing intent radiating from the red head showed that he was anything but in control of his emotions.

"It's a sad day when a Jinchuuriki lets his demon tenant have control over his psyche" commented Haku, in the hopes that Gaara would drop his guard and it worked as Gaara seemingly hunched over in pain holding his head – Haku guessed he was having 'words' with his tenant.

Not wasting a second, Haku used blinding speed to appear before Gaara and using his chakra, applied one of the seals Naruto created on his forehead. The Seal stuck to his forehead and Gaara slumped to the floor, his sand going with him. What surprised Haku more though was that his skin seemed to be melting off, however, on closer inspection, he discovered that the sand _was_ his skin and when it all pooled around on the floor near his fear, he was treated to the sight of Gaara panting on all fours, looking like he was no longer in pain.

"Mother…is silent…" Gaara commented through pants as Haku approached him slowly.

"Gaara-san, that is not your mother speaking with you, but rather the Ichibi no Shukaku" he said in what he hoped was a comforting voice.

"What did you do? No one has defeated me so easily before…" he said, still panting, Haku surmised that the absence of demonic chakra from his system forced him to have some sort of 'withdrawal' effects.

"I can't take full credit for this 'defeat' as you call it" began Haku "it is simply a seal I placed on you that temporarily seals away your demonic chakra and the demon's connection to you. I did not create the seal either, a friend of mine did, nor did I place it on you for the purpose of defeating or killing you" Haku explained, much to Gaara's confusion and anger.

"What purpose do you have to toy with my powers then? And how do I know if you're lying or not?" asked Gaara, eyeing him warily.

"You can know I'm not lying because I can kill you now without any troubles without your sand to protect you, in regards to your question of why though, I merely wanted to talk to you without having to dodge your attempts at killing me" explained Haku to the confused Gaara.

Gaara just remained silent, hoping his powers would come back soon so he can kill this person that attacked him.

"Do you have a precious person?" asked Haku out of the blue, knowing that it would instil some sort of reaction from the red headed boy and he watched with curiosity as hatred flashed through Gaara's eyes before he decided to answer.

"I have no precious people, nobody loves me and I love nobody but myself" he began, seemingly reiterating this to himself more then to Haku "I will annihilate anyone who seeks to terminate my existence and that means you so as soon as this trick fades from me, mother will have your blood" he said, a grin appearing on his face, one that showed his twisted nature and ideology.

Haku, not phased at all by the threat watched Gaara calmly before speaking again "You are not the only Jinchuuriki in this world" he began "and there are those who have had it far worse then you, and those who have had it easier then you" he explained "but you will never become truly strong if you possess an ideology like the one you have now, killing for the sake of your 'existence' is a sad way to live a life. It is a shame too because despite what you think about nobody loving you, I can see it in her eyes that your sister, though afraid of you, cared for you deeply, why else would she assist you in attacking me the other week?" he asked.

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Gaara's facial expressions didn't change "I will kill you and prove that by loving only myself and relying only on myself that I am truly strong" he said with anger in his voice.

Haku shrugged before walking away "I hope you will learn in time, how truly and utterly wrong you are. Not just for yourself, but for those who do care about you" he finished, his eyes glancing at a seemingly random spot in the forest however the person watching was surprised to see that she was spotted so easily.

"Until we meat again Subaku no Gaara" finished Haku before disappearing in a puddle of water.

Gaara continued to sit on the floor and ponder about the conversation he just had while he was still cut off from his demon and not being bothered by it. The person hidden in Konoha's woods however was deeply thankful that someone tried to help their situation, regardless how hopeless it may seem. Green eyes shined with unshed tears as they looked upon the person in the clearing looking so defeated.

Authot's Note:

One thing I want to point out before submitting this; if and when Naruto uses his affinity, there will be no drawbacks as in hurting himself or some BS like in the manga, the fact that it does in the manga almsot made me stop reading it all together. Sure, Sasuke can turn his body into a freaking lightning rod and charge electricity in currents all over hismelf but Naruto, when he uses his wind gets his arm almost destroyed. Right, whatever.

Naruto's sister will not be an OC, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out and I honestly think it may be a possibility in the manga too, if you know who it is, please don't say so in the reviews, let the less savvy Naruto fans be surprised, but again, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out.

In regards to more puppets, I see where people are comming from, but I don't really want to give him too many more, I mean, how much more firepower do you need then three Kages? Also, I am not 100 on the actual CONCEPT of a human puppet, but for the sake of the story, they are just like regular puppets but they have chakra circulatory systems so they can use jutsus and any bloodlines that revolves around their chakra, that rules out the use of a Kaguya's bloodline in a puppet, an Uchiha or Hyuuga because Naruto can't SEE with his puppet's eyes and so on. So, picture Naruto's Kage puppets as actual shinobi that are fitted with deadly contraptions and can use all their original jutsu, or whatever Naruto KNOWS of (hint).

There will be an iddition to the Naruto/Haku team sooner or later, I know one I want to add but I ultimately want to get four, though I might just keep it at three, we'll see.

I really have an urge to write a fic where Naruto is dressed EXACTLY like Kisuke Urahara btw (bleach if you didn't know) with a different colour scheme, probably in my next fic. That was random, yes, but I just think it looks damn cool. My next fic after this could be one of possible two things, if you're wondering why I'm thinking of this now, it's because I chose this story out of a possible three Naruto stories to write. The other two were Naruto arriving in Konoha when he's fourteen with no long term memory (I will normally write my stories with genin being 14 simply because it makes romance and pairing more believable) but he will have the instincts and skills of a very powerful shinobi - think Jason Bourne (just watched the third movie recently and I was like, 'zomg, good idea for Naruto fic' - he just woulnd't remember which skills he has exactly until he has 'flashbacks' of using them or uses them unintentionally as a reflex. The other fic would be completely AU with Naruto being a relative of the Sandaime Kazekage and having the bloodline of controlling magnetic fields, thus growing up in Suna, might or might not have the Kyuubi, be Gaara's only friend, Temari pairing, etc etc.

Another quick update and all, next chap will begin third phase of Chunin exams if you're wondering, it will probably be a longer then usual chapter like wave arc, so it might take a while.

Adios.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Change of Heart

Chapter 10: Change of Heart

Naruto and Haku stood side by side on the outskirts of Konoha waiting for their signal. The last month that the two had spent in Konoha had them in each other's company less then Haku would admit to feeling comfortable with, however, that was not without its benefits.

For one, Haku was able to meet with and hopefully aid a Jinchuuriki, one just like Naruto but with a lot more bloodlust. Secondly, Haku was able to pilfer more scrolls, or rather Naruto was and he had given them to Haku, on medical ninjutsu which he studied with after Naruto said that he should become as skilled as possible in the field to cover for the both of them. Already liking the field of jutsu and having a good amount of skill in it, Haku was quick to acquiesce to that request.

Naruto on the other hand had been doing more spy work and pondering. Spying on the late apprentice of the Serpent Sannin Mitarashi Anko from the shadows to see if she would be a possible threat or possibly be in league with the snake sannin himself. Both, he found, were very unlikely seeing the hatred she held for the man that was so intense that faking it seemed doubtful, not to mention that she seemed very devoted to the Sandaime Hokage for some reason – he could only assume that it had something to do with her abandonment at the hands of the Snake Sannin.

He had been pondering however what to do with the information he had 'acquired' about his mother and sister. His first impulse was to search for her immediately but when he thought about it, that was a rash and foolish thing to do, so instead, he had another plan which he was sure he would work, and if it didn't, it didn't really matter anyway. He doubted that there were many forces in the shinobi nations that could stop him from finding and obtaining something that he wanted.

Suddenly, a loud explosion was heard from the direction of the stadium within Konoha's walls, the stadium that was used as a host for the chunin exams. Haku looked in Naruto's direction to see him with his eyes closed, seemingly in thought until they fluttered open and his partner turned in his direction, his eyes haded by his straw hat though he could still tell he was being looked at.

"The attack has begun, my Kage Bunshin dispelled itself and informed me that the Jinchuuriki from Suna has fled in the Northwest direction into the dense woodland surrounding Konoha" he concluded, ignoring Haku's eyes widening slightly "It appears Hatake-san taught the Uchiha is original technique and Uchiha-san used it to pierce Gaara-san's sand shield, the result was the three Suna genin fleeing for Gaara-san to recover before returning…"

Haku listened patiently. It wasn't that he was taking orders from Naruto or anything, but the blonde's analytical mind, tactical prowess and quick thinking was more often then not, the source of many ingenious plans and strategies for the two, so he just listened to his suggestion which he knows he'll follow anyway.

"You have already made contact with the Jinchuuriki of the Suna no Shukaku, I suggest you head them off and incapacitate them, we cannot have a demon on the loose reaping havoc on the Fire lords, not to mention that should he be allowed to do so, this invasion will most likely be a success and Orochimaru's power base will grow exponentially, we cannot let that happen" he paused, allowing Haku to absorb all that information.

"What will you do?" asked Haku with some signs of trepidation to which Naruto replied with a shrug.

"I will defeat as many opponents as possible and make my way to Orochimaru" he paused before continuing "his ambitions are becoming quite troublesome and he is destroying the lives of many innocents…" he said, seemingly done and Haku was about to leave for his task before he caught the parting words of Naruto, just barely.

"Be safe Haku"

The words, usually unheard of from the stoic blonde brought a genuine smile on Haku's face behind his white mask.

"You too Naruto"

With that, both shinobi disappeared using Shunshin.

Hatake Kakashi stood back to back with his self-proclaimed 'eternal rival' Maito Gai, Jounin instructor and Taijutsu expert of Konoha. Not moments ago, during the fight between one Uchiha Sasuke and Sabaku no Gaara, the long anticipated invasion had begun with a mass Genjutsu being cast on everyone within the stadium by an unknown shinobi which seemed to be the signal for the invasion to begin.

At first, as soon as the mass Genjutsu was cast, anyone that knew anything about shinobi immediately suspected Uzumaki Naruto, however, there have been no sightings of the blonde Jinchuuriki as of yet so that assumption seemed to have no merit. As soon as people started to fall asleep due to the affects of the Genjutsu, there were explosions all ­

around the stadium and Konoha in general which blew holes in Konoha's protective walls to allow passage for Suna and Oto shinobi to infiltrate the village and attack.

Seeing as the invasion was expected though, there was an immediate reaction to the invasion of the kind that wouldn't be expected from the enemy less they knew that the invading village already knew they were being invaded. Luckily for the Konoha shinobi, they knew of the invasion and acted by implementing the three step process they are taught to follow when under these circumstances. Evacuate the civilians to the mountain paths, Counter-attack with all available shinobi and then crush the invading forces. Part one was still in motion but unless it was finished soon, they ran the risk of being overrun, which seemed highly likely if the large amount of Oto shinobi circling around the pair of jounin was any indication.

Things didn't seem to be going so well with the Hokage either for as soon as the invasion began, the Kazekage took to the roof of the stadium with the Hokage before having four of his subordinates using some sort of Fuuinjutsu to create a large pink barrier that seemingly burnt anything it came in contact with instantly; so their Hokage was fighting alone against another Kage and despite his upmost confidence in his village's leader, he couldn't help but worry.

"Kakashi, these most unyouthful opponents seem to have us surrounded and though quite unbelievable, I seem to be reaching the peak of my youthfulness and am tiring, do you have any suggestions my eternal rival?" asked a slightly panting Gai and Kakashi couldn't blame him, they had each taken out at least fifty shinobi each and as good as they were, being ranked as two of the strongest shinobi in the village, even they had their limits which were quickly being reached against the hordes of two enemy villages.

"You mean other then using wide spread destruction ninjutsu that will most likely harm friends as well as for?" asked Kakashi, not facing the green spandex wearing jounin known as Maito Gai as they were still standing back to back, kunai and nunchaku being held in defensive manners by each shinobi.

Gai simply answered with a cry of 'how unyouthful' before Kakashi continued "In that case, no, no I don't and our friends also seem to be quite busy" indicated Kakashi, motioning to the Senbon chewing jounin Shiranui Genma who was fighting against Suna's jounin instructor, Namiashi Raido, the scarred bodyguard to the Hokage during this portion of the chunin exams who was up against several Oto chunin, Yuhi Kurenai who was on the other side of the arena using her powerful Genjutsu techniques on several Oto and Suna jounin before picking them off and Sarutobi Asuma, son of the Hokage and jounin instructor of team ten who had his trench knives out and fighting against one of the more powerful Suna jounin "so unless you got any ideas" Kakashi continued "we're all on our own" he commented, gripping his kunai tighter while his uncovered Sharingan eye was continuing to drain his chakra reserves.

Gai agreed with his rival's opinion and as they both tensed as if to commence another attack, there was another explosion that caused several of the shinobi to look in another direction, from where the sound came from, to show a large portion of the stadium wall to have been destroyed and covered in dust. Still keeping their guards up, several of the shinobi, invading and defending both, not knowing who would have caused such destruction, eyed the now broken area of the wall warily wondering what had come through.

When the dust cleared, a most peculiar sight met them. It seemed to be a wooden puppet with a large Kabuki mask on its back and a huge drill where its head should be. The drill only just stopped spinning, indicating that it was most likely the cause for the now demolished wall.

Oto and Suna shinobi, knowing this shinobi was not a part of their forces approached this new threat only to be systematically cut down in the most efficient and effective ways possible. Immediately, after the puppet's appearance, a figure in a grey cloak and straw hat walked in calmly behind it, not even pausing at the sight of what was going on within the stadium and continued to walk towards the wall below the seats of the stadium. The first shinobi that attacked him was a Suna jounin who used a Futon ninjutsu to blow a large compressed ball of wind in his direction. The shinobi, now identified as Uzumaki Naruto by most of those who bothered to read the Bingo Book, didn't even move to avoid the blast, however, the large puppet leapt into the path of the blast and turned swiftly to show its back to the ball of wind. The puppet, which easily towered over Naruto, absorbed the blast with the makeshift shield on its back quite easily, showing that when the dust was cleared, it didn't even sustain damage and protected Naruto completely from harm. The most interesting part of what happened though was that Naruto still had not stopped walking, as if these shinobi were not worth his time, he didn't even look in their general direction!

Not liking how he was so easily ignored, the Suna jounin prepared for a second attack, preparing to cast a more powerful Futon jutsu, however, before he could get it odd, out of the mouth of the large puppet came a metallic and flexible scorpion like tail that shot out at the jounin at incredible speeds and impaled the shinobi through the stomach with its razor sharp looking tip. The tail went straight through his stomach and into the back of an Oto chunin that was focusing on his opponent and not the new threat directly behind him. The tail retracted itself from the two shinobi's bodies and came back to the puppet so it was flaying protectively around Naruto and itself, which was good because the tail then had to deflect several dozen Shuriken thrown by the newly arrived Oto reinforcements perched on the stadium walls.

"That was not wise" was all Naruto said when, from behind where the four Oto shinobi perched on the stadium wall, garbed like the rest of their comrades in weird skin tight black pants, tops and facemasks, only showing their eyes and camouflage coverings that were not really practical at all considering they were a bluish colour, how would that hide them in a forested nation?

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As soon as Naruto said what he had, a shadow loomed over the four Oto jounin which caused them to turn only to see another puppet with six wings, a tail much like the first puppet revealed and two arms with some form of contraptions on them – said contraptions were being pointed right at them. Immediately, two large streams of scorching hot fire shot out of each contraption, each rivalling in power to that of an 'A' class Katon jutsu, shot at them, causing them to abandon the position on top of the wall, only to meet their dooms as another puppet with six limbs all aimed at the descending shinobi shot kunai after kunai from each limb and a large poison cloud from its mouth, unbeknownst to everyone witnessing that though, each and every kunai was poisoned with a deadly organ eating venom that only needs to make contact with the opponent's blood to take effect. The surprise appearance of the third puppet marked the end of the four Oto jounin quite easily.

While Naruto had distracted the Suna and Oto shinobi, Kakashi and Gai used that to their advantage to begin the attack again, taking down eight of the surrounding shinobi before they could realize their prey had begun attacking again.

"Naruto-kun's most youthful display has indeed given us another chance to continue our competition Kakashi! I am now on 54!" exclaimed Gai, his cheerful and competitive nature back now that things didn't look so grim. Kakashi, though inwardly suspicious of Naruto, turned his head slightly and raised a single eyebrow before replying.

"I'm on 57 Gai" was all Kakashi replied before they continued. His response prompting Gai to sprout off nonsense about defeating his eternal rival less he wants to strap a two tonne boulder to his back and walk old ladies across the street for two weeks straight.

Those who still paid attention to Naruto would have noticed that he didn't break stride once and continued to make his way towards his destination, which now seemed to be the big pink barrier on the roof of the stadium, Oto and Suna shinobi continuously assaulting him only to have their attacks stopped by Doriru's shield and both Doriru's and Tenshi's tails. Also, anyone foolish enough to attack was quickly put down by any one of Tenshi's impressive offensive weapons, Doriru's tail or Dokueki's numerous poisoned appendages.

Once he finally reached his destination, Naruto spotted a group of three ANBU, one of which draped in a white cloak as opposed to the standard black, kneeling beside a pink barrier which seemed to be housing Orochimaru and the Sandaime who were having a little jutsu battle. Naruto observed the barrier, completely ignoring the ANBU who were too concerned with their Hokage to take notice, to see four of Orochimaru's elites, each enclosed in their own mini-barrier, supplying the chakra needed to keep the barrier up.

As he continued to observe the barrier and try to think of a way to bypass it, several foolish shinobi who thought they could take him down tried to kill him with attack from behind, only to be foiled by his still active puppets. This seemed to catch the ANBU's attention now as they were immediately on guard when Naruto calmly stood there, looking at the barrier while his three puppets waged war on anything that came close. The ANBU captain saw, with shock, that Naruto's fingers on his left hand were twitching slightly, however his right remained motionless within his cloak, signifying that the boy was controlling all three puppets with one hand, simply amazing.

The last of the attacking shinobi was marked with Doriru blindsiding him by shooting his two large arms that were still connected to its body with a thick cable at him and wrapping around his opponent. He didn't stop there however as a compartment in the puppet's chest opened showing the charred remains of two other shinobi as Naruto made Doriru pull the screaming Oto jounin into its chest cavity where it closed immediately, amidst the banging heard on the inside. As soon as the compartments closed, Doriru's hands both crackled with visible electricity as he touched his own torso, which was obviously made of metal, sending wave after wave of electrical currents into the screaming Oto jounin who was fried within. Smoke could be seen coming from different cavities of the puppet before the screams died down. The ANBU captain cringed at the brutal yet effective kill.

Now that the immediate threat was gone, the three puppets hovered side by side behind Naruto as he continued to inspect the barrier "Have you attempted to find a way to stop the _casters_ of the barrier from sustaining the barrier?" asked Naruto, catching the three ANBU off guard.

"There is nothing we can do, the barrier incinerates anything it comes in contact with" the ANBU captain announced, getting the attention of the two occupants within the barrier.

"Ah, Naruto-kun, I was wondering when you would show yourself, Kukuku" Orochimaru chuckled, revealing to Naruto that his suspicions about the Yondaime Kazekage were founded "I'm afraid you will find this barrier to be impenetrable" he said smugly, though Naruto simply ignored him and with his vacant right hand, he unbuckled the top of his cloak revealing the lower half of his face which was neither in a frown or any sort of smile. Naruto then placed, much to the ANBU's surprise, Sarutobi's amusement and Orochimaru's chagrin, a piece of vanilla pocky in his mouth.

"I promise you Orochimaru, if you tell your guards to lower the barrier, I will let you have some of my Pocky before I kill you" he said, no emotion in his voice, though he was inwardly enjoying how Orochimaru was glaring at him, his killing intent completely useless against Naruto.

"You dare threaten me?!" shrieked Orochimaru, as he went through a long chain of hand seals, putting the ages Hokage on guard.

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"No, why? Do you feel threatened?" countered Naruto, enjoying his psychological warfare he was waging on Orochimaru from the other side of the barrier. However, before a reply came, Orochimaru used an unknown technique, one that even Naruto and the Hokage hadn't heard of.

"Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei" he shouted with a large amount of smugness laced in his voice. The technique caused three black portals to open up from the ground, each releasing a numbered coffin. Each numbered with the Kanji for one, two and four.

From the first coffin, the Shodaime Hokage stepped out in all his glory, dressed similarly to how Naruto has his own puppet version dressed. From the second coffin, the Nidaime Hokage, his pale face and woollen shawl draped over his shoulders stepped out, looking around with confusion. Before the third coffin could fully emerge, Sarutobi cancelled it before its occupant, which was now obvious, could come out and spell doom for all of Konoha.

"Have you no respect for the dead my foolish student?!" yelled Sarutobi, panting slightly at the effort needed to cancel the last summoning of the Edo Tensei but before Orochimaru could reply, Naruto sighed.

"Sarutobi-san, that wasn't necessary" he supplied, causing Orochimaru to raise an eyebrow and smirk and Sarutobi to look at him in confusion.

"Naruto-kun, do you not know who would have come out?" urged Sarutobi, wanting to explain his actions to the obviously disillusioned youth.

"Nobody would have come out" explained Naruto "Orochimaru-san believes his technique powerful enough to overpower Shinigami's hold on Yondaime-sama's soul, obviously, his ego has rendered him delusional" he commented, causing Sarutobi to chuckle and Orochimaru to narrow his eyes.

"When I kill this old fool, you will be next Naruto-kun" he finished with a smirk which didn't affect Naruto at all.

While Orochimaru was threatening Naruto, the Shodaime and Nidaime finally gained their bearings and saw their opponent, their summoner and who he was talking to.

"Hello Sarutobi" greeted the Shodaime Hokage "I'm sorry for this, but we'll have to serve out summoner"

"You look old Sarutobi" commented the Nidaime, with a small grin causing Sarutobi's eyebrow to twitch in annoyance, though he didn't deny it.

Shodaime and Nidaime now both looked toward Naruto now before they would be converted into mindless killing machines.

"Naruto-san, we know of your…creations that you keep hidden very close to you" the Shodaime said, motioning with his eyes to Naruto's left forearm. The blonde Jinchuuriki simply cocked his head to the side and waited for what they would say about it.

"Though we are not exactly thrilled about the prospect" began the Nidaime "it's the least we can do for the wrongs the village my brother and I founded have caused you, I only hope you use them well" he said, with a small grin which was mirrored by Naruto and the Shodaime.

"Arigato Shodaime-sama, Nidaime-sama" Naruto said with a small bow before another explosion caught everyone's attention. Each occupant of the roof looked to the forest to see a giant Tanuki made of sand ruse out of seemingly nowhere causing Sarutobi's eyes to widen, Orochimaru to grin, and the two dead Hokage's to look on in confusion. Naruto cursed under his breath and turned back to the barrier where Orochimaru was placing some sort of seal into the back of the Hokage's necks.

Naruto then looked at Sarutobi and the odds he was up against "It looks like I'm needed elsewhere Sarutobi-san" he began, reaching for something from beneath his straw hat and taking out his slashed Konoha forehead protector. He then threw it at the barrier and watched it ignite in flames before turning back to the Hokage "I wish you luck" he said, before sealing away his puppets in three separate scrolls and disappearing with a Kaze Shunshin.

Orochimaru looked at the spot Naruto just was moments ago and at his two very own 'puppets' in confusion due to the small conversation they just had – how could they have any connection what so ever? He put it out of his mind though and focused on the battle at hand.

Sarutobi smiled sadly at Naruto before he left, knowing full well that it will most likely be the last time he would see the blonde Jinchuuriki again, if what Orochimaru had just done was any indication before focusing back on the fight as well.

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Haku was most definitely not having a good day. He had arrived on the scene where he had sensed the extreme amount of demonic chakra from Gaara only to find the Uchiha boy from the village squaring off against the berserk Jinchuuriki. The Uchiha had no chance and to top it all off, his pink-haired team mate was standing on the sidelines cheering him on to his death like some cheerleader instead of helping him. Not only was it embarrassing for the girl, who seemed to be oblivious to how ridiculous she seemed, it was demeaning to Kunoichi all over the world who try their hardest to prove that they are respectable shinobi just like any male, only to have some common civilian swine bring that idea crashing into the ground by becoming a kunoichi for all the wrong reasons. Haku scoffed mentally at his train of thought – if Naruto had heard it, he would most definitely have commented on how he was trying to 'get in touch with' his feminine side.

Haku mentally paused, processing exactly what he had just said before scowling. Naruto had even gotten him to insult himself in his own subconscious! This was just ridiculous.

Haku continued to watch as the Uchiha used some jutsu that had lightning sprouting from his left hand as he charged at the seemingly unstoppable Jinchuuriki. He was also surprised to see the boy utilize the power of the cursed seal to do so – from what Naruto had told him of it, he was probably already losing himself to its promises of power, not that he cared, but he didn't want Gaara to kill the boy – that would cause unnecessary troubles for himself and his village. If there was one thing Haku was sure of, it was the burden carried by Jinchuuriki. That is a burden that should not be carried alone or added to, which in retrospect, is probably why he continues to travel with Naruto so willingly, that and the good company.

Gaara himself seemed to be transforming into a miniature version of the Ichibi no Shukaku with most of his body covered in sand that took the shape of a large clawed arm and a large tail swishing behind him. The demon seemed to be doing most of the fighting and not Gaara – Haku hoped Naruto could do something to fix that.

Just as Gaara was about to kill the Uchiha by using his large arm to crush him, Haku decided to strike, performing the seals for a Suiton jutsu with the only source of water the hydrogen and oxygen particles surrounding him.

"Suiton: Suiryudan no jutsu" he said calmly, Haku couldn't understand how Naruto could perform jutsu without saying their names. Sure, he could see the advantage of doing so, but by saying their names, it gave Haku the extra mental focus to gather his chakra and mould it to his whim, it just went to show how powerful Naruto was, he mused, as a large dragon made of water rose of from the ground and charged at the unsuspecting body of Gaara.

The water dragon slammed into Gaara and sent him staggering as the weight of his large sand arm seemed to be too much after the impact, making him lose his balance. Gaara, Sasuke and Sakura all turned to look at the intruder, as well as Temari who was hidden as to avoid the wrath of her brother should he lose control of his demon. Haku calmly stepped out of his hiding place to face Gaara.

"Gaara-san, please retake control of your bijou and stop his madness" requested Haku calmly "you are letting its urges control you and are disgracing the name of Jinchuuriki everywhere who are trying their hardest to prove that they are anything but that which they contain" he said, a hint of desperation in his voice.

"Who are you to tell me what to do?" began Gaara, his voice slurred slightly as more sand covered his body as he called on more of the demonic chakra "I exist only to destroy others, by doing that I prove my existence as something more then a relic of the past" he said, pausing as more chakra seemed to cover his body and his rage growing even more "I live only for myself, I love only myself and because of this, I am truly strong" he said, as another arm of sand materialized on the opposite side of his body and the sand covered the rest of his head, forming that of a Tanuki "If you get in my way, I will kill you and don't think I'll let you place one of those seals on me again, my sand will protect me from it" he concluded, his body now completely covered in sand changing his appearance to that of a mini Shukaku, save his legs which were still those of Gaara.

Haku sighed, noticing the only way to have Gaara see the light would be to literally beat it into him. He would not be foolish and underestimate the Jinchuuriki though, as Naruto always told him, even the weakest of shinobi could catch you while your guard is down and kill you. How the blonde Jinchuuriki could always be on guard was slightly worrisome for Haku, but for now, he headed his advice and watched his opponent carefully.

Uchiha Sasuke watched the proceedings while grinding his teeth in annoyance. He had given it everything he had and still it wasn't enough, perhaps if the Hyuuga on his team wasn't aiding her clan in the defence of Konoha, together they would have been able to stop this demon, however, with the only team mate available to him being a useless cheerleader, he could do nothing but watch this mysterious shinobi and perhaps learn a few ninjutsu, much like the Suiryudan no jutsu he had just observed the masked shinobi perform. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Sakura several dozen feet away torn between rushing to his aid and petrified at the appearance of the Suna genin. She couldn't be any more useless, in his opinion, even if she tried. So for now, he simply climbed up the tree he was leaning against and rested against the trunk while recuperating his strength and watching the fight.

Gaara immediately launched both of his large arms of sand at Haku who disappeared in a burst of speed and appeared behind the Suna genin to try and sweep his legs from beneath him with a horizontal leg sweep, only to have his plans foiled by a rather large tail only barely missing him as it crunched into the ground, creating a large crater where it hit. Haku grimaced at the sight; he would need to avoid being hit at all costs.

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"Suna Shigure" hissed Gaara as he opened his large palms to have several dozen projectiles made of sand launch from them in Haku's direction. Haku took out a twin pair of Wakizashi from under his robes and while holding them in a reverse grip, blocked all of the ones that would have caused major damage to him, letting some graze his arms and legs slightly. He would be prepared for such a fast attack in the future and would avoid it at all costs.

Gaara growled fiercely as his attack failed, only to send in his arms again, however, Haku jumped on the first arm and run up it to where it connected only to have the other arms swipe at him. Haku then leapt onto the second arm to avoid being hit before launching an elbow to Gaara's face, having it connect perfectly and sent the boy staggering slightly. Haku's danger senses tingled however and he performed several back flips to get out of the way as several dozen large sand spikes were created from Gaara's sand skin that would have pierced him easily he had not gotten out of there.

Haku cursed mentally, the boy was build like a tank with the perfect defensive abilities with excellent counter offensive abilities also. The only main weaknesses Haku could find were that he was incredibly slow, given his massive weight, and he was also letting his rage consume him, not letting him think while fighting.

Haku dodged several more strikes from Gaara's arms and tail with his speed while contemplating what he would do next before he saw exactly where Gaara was standing and exactly what was surrounding him.

"I tried to warn you Gaara-san, but you would not listen" said Haku as he held his right hand in a single hand seal "Hijutsu, Makyou Hyoushou" he announced his jutsu as the water all around Gaara that was created from his attack earlier rose up from the ground taking the shape of large rectangular mirrors in a dome around Gaara. When the mirrors were finished being formed, Haku stepped into the mirror causing his reflection to appear in every mirror around and above Gaara, confusing the Jinchuuriki greatly.

Sasuke and Sakura gasped when they noticed the jutsu. Sasuke had thought that the shinobi that had intervened was familiar and now this was the proof, this was the shinobi that was paired with Zabuza in wave, the shinobi that was supposed to have died by Kakashi-sensei's hand, the shinobi that had him and the Hyuuga beaten until he intercepted the strike from Kakashi to save his partner's life.

"Not many are able to survive this technique Gaara-san" said Haku, his voice projected from all around him so Gaara couldn't tell which was the real one "but you refuse to listen to reason and continue on this warpath that you call a life" he said, shaking his head sadly "I know for a fact that, should you change your ways, we could be friends, but seeing as you refuse to do so, you are forcing me to stop you to help you."

Not wanting to hear anymore, Gaara launched his two sand arms at one of the mirrors, hoping to get lucky and grinned as the mirror shattered. The grin left his Tanuki face though when he saw the mirror just as quickly reform itself upon being destroyed.

"It will not be that easy Gaara-san, prepare yourself"

Sasuke watched from outside the mirrors as the same technique that was used on Hanabi and him was being used to efficiently on Gaara on a much larger scale. The shinobi would send needles from seemingly every direction in waves and all Gaara could do to guard from it is block them with his sand appendages.

Haku frowned as his needles continued to be blocked by his sand appendages before getting an idea. Every image of Haku began to make more one handed hand signs before calling out his jutsu.

"Hijutsu, Sensatsu Suishou"

To Gaara's surprise, several hundred small and sharp needles of ice formed themselves our of thin air around the upper part of his body, merely floating there harmlessly before they all rocketed toward his head, torso and arms. All Gaara could do to ward against the attack was cover his upper body with his tail and arms.

Seeing Gaara's suspected reaction, Haku immediately commenced the next part of his plan. Attaching explosive tags to three Senbon, he came out of the mirror he was in and threw the three Senbon into the base of his tail, the part that looked the most vulnerable, before activating the explosive notes. He then quickly, before Gaara could tell, went back into a mirror.

Gaara heard the telltale sizzling sounds of an explosive note and looked around to find its source, however, it was too late to stop the three large explosions that erupted from below his tail and send him flying with a massive amount of force into one of the ice mirrors. Gaara felt pain like he had never felt before, from the explosions and especially from smacking into an ice mirror and not breaking through.

From her position hidden in the trees, Temari looked on in shock "There's no way he can stand up to Gaara in this form…just who the hell is this guy?"

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Sasuke watched on from his position, helpless to do anything as Sakura finally made her way over to him and began fussing over his injuries. Normally he would have put up with the fact that there were people stronger and more able then he was, but with the pink cheerleader fawning over him and continuously pestering him to talk to her, even having the audacity to ask him out on a date in _this_ situation, his patience was waring thin – it was a testament to her 'fangirlness' that Sakura didn't feel his spiking killing intent.

As he lay on the ground broken and beaten, he looked up past the mirrors into the sky and began mumbling to himself.

"How is he so strong? How is he able to hurt me? Mother wants his blood…Mother will get his blood…I will _not_ die here…my existence shall _not_ be erased…I WILL NOT LOSE TO THIS GUY!" he finished, yelling at the top of his lungs as wave upon wave of sand gushed out from Gaara's body in a massive display of power before the whole area was enveloped in a large smoke cloud, obscuring the entire field of view.

Haku felt all of his mirrors get destroyed at once as he escaped them right before they had been destroyed so. He couldn't see much, but from the large 'waving' sound he could hear, as if something large was swaying in the air was anything to go by, he could be in trouble.

Temari stared in shock at what just happened "It's finally come out…I need to get out of here!"

Haku sighed and waited for the inevitable. By the two glowing yellow orbs floating high above in the sky, it was fairly obvious what had happened. As the smoke around the towering figure cleared, it revealed a huge, if not slightly fat Tanuki glaring down at him. The Ichibi no Shukaku's true form.

"I've had enough of this nonsense" the towering figure of Gaara's announced "I'll kill you now to prove my existence!"

The gigantic Tanuki lifted its hulking arm in the air as tendrils upon tendrils of sand launched themselves at Haku at incredible speeds, each one trying to get Haku from behind while another would distract him from all angles, above and below also.

It was a testament to Haku's speed that he was able to dodge for as long as he could, using trees and rocks as obstacles to shield form the sand, but even they were grinded into dust when faced against the might of the Ichibi's sand attacks.

When Haku was cornered and sand began pouring in at him from all directions, he began to quickly form hand seals to counter the onslaught.

"Suiton: Suijinheki"

Upon using the jutsu, a wall of water surrounding Haku, protecting him from all angles save above and below, stopping the sand periodically in its tracks. As a testament to Haku's mastery over his manipulation of water, he had merely conjured the water from the jutsu from within, with no outer source of water.

When Gaara chose to redirect the sand to get Haku from above, seeing as he couldn't penetrate the wall of water, Haku had to quickly use Kawarimi so that he wouldn't be crushed by the tonnes of sand that came down from above.

"Shine!" Was all Gaara said and then next thing Haku noticed, more sand then he had seen before rushed to destroy his still recovering form as tonnes and tonnes of sand descended upon the spot where Haku had replaced himself with a log. Shielding his eyes and thinking this was the end, Haku turned away and awaited the impact that never came.

Uncovering his eyes he was greeted to a sight that brought a smile to his face, Dokueki, Doriru and Tenshi, the only three puppets Haku had ever seen Naruto used, three of his own creation, where shielding Haku from the sand in their own ways. Dokueki was supporting Doriru with his limbs while impaling himself on the ground with his blades so it wouldn't crumble, Doriru had its back to the sand with his large shield and tail holding off the sand and Tenshi aided the battle with its own tail, holding off the sand.

"Haku-chan" the voice of Naruto called out "it would be wise to move before my puppets give out" was all he said and Haku didn't need more prompting as he quickly got out of the way, just as the several tonnes of sand finally crushed Naruto's three original puppets, never to be used again.

Looking up at the hulking figure of Gaara, Naruto narrowed his eyes from under his straw hat in annoyance "Cease this foolishness Gaara-san, you are disgracing Jinchuuriki everywhere with your actions" he said firmly, tossing aside his straw hat and unbuttoning the top half of his cloak so that his face wasn't obscured at all. His hair, no longer held up with the Konoha forehead protector was swaying in the wind with his ponytail still remaining within his cloak.

­

"Why did you save him?" Gaara asked through the mouth of the huge Tanuki, completely disregarding the threat Naruto gave him, looking curiously at the spot Haku was resting at, leaning against a tree, trying to regain his breath and energy.

"That is none of your concern Gaara-san" replied Naruto, equally ignoring his question. Gaara didn't take too kindly to this and quicker then either Naruto or Haku could react, Gaara had Haku pinned up against the tree with his sand squeezing Haku who let out a yell of pain.

Thinking quick, Naruto took out a kunai and flicked it in the direction of the sand. The kunai imbedded itself into the sand and a sizzling was heard. With a loud explosion, the sand broke off from its place of origin, however, the remainder was still attached to Haku and slowly squeezing the life out of him.

"Release him" Naruto ordered in a calm voice, implying no nonsense, however, Gaara chose to ignore him again.

"What does he mean to you?" he asked with amusement in his voice as the sand constricted more "What are you willing to do to save his life?" he asked, sneering at the end of his comment.

"I will not warn you again, Gaara-san" Naruto said, looking up at the huge Tanuki without an ounce of fear which boggled the minds of the onlookers, mainly Temari "should you not release him, I will kill you, and I do not want to kill a fellow Jinchuuriki" that comment got Gaara's attention.

"Fellow Jinchuuriki, hm?" asked Gaara, amused and interested "Is that why that boy was so intent on me changing my ways?" he asked, constricting the sand's hold on Gaara even more "does he feel it his duty? Being your _friend_?" he asked again, the sand constricting more causing Haku to yell out again in pain.

"He was sprouting off nonsense about protecting precious people is what makes us truly strong" he said, pausing "can you prove this? Can you protect your friend from me? Someone who fights only for himself?" he asked as the forehead of the large Tanuki began to ripple. Gaara knew that if he was fighting a fellow Jinchuuriki, he would have to pull out all the stops, he had the Ichibi, the weakest of the nine bijous, and therefore, regardless of which bijou his opponent had, it was stronger than his. He couldn't hold back.

"Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu" Gaara announced after going through a set of hand seals and with one final gasp, he slumped over, falling asleep.

Naruto watched as the form of Shukaku began to rumble before its eyes shone with a brighter yellow light, signifying the demon taking over. This disgusted Naruto, someone claiming to be strong yet relying on someone else's power to do so. What did it prove when he called upon the help of Shukaku? That he had a weak will and couldn't contain the demon within him? Then he had the audacity to trap Haku with that claw of sand that kept constricting his…friend.

"YATTA! I'M FREE! BUT WHY WAS I LET OU TO KILL A LOWLY HUMAN BUG?!" shrieked the demon tanuki in a surprisingly 'funky' voice.

Immediately, several dozen tendrils of sand shot at Naruto "I WILL KILL YOU!"

Naruto stood calmly in the face of this sand, much to Temari's, Sasuke, Sakura's and mostly Haku's shock "NARUTO!" yelled Haku, as the sand closed in, however, something that shocked all those watching just occurred.

As the sand razed closer and closer, Naruto seemed to glow with a bright green light all over his body before crouching ever so slightly. Just as the sand was about to make its mark, Naruto spun around at incredible speeds while moving towards the giant Tanuki. The result both shocked and awed the onlookers, for, from around Naruto, a humongous Tornado formed and shot out towards the Tanuki, obliterating the tendrils of sand making their way toward the blonde Jinchuuriki. Shukaku, not expecting this at all, allowed the 'puny' tornado to strike its leg, however, much to his shock and fury, the tornado shredded into its leg and tore it off from the rest of its body, causing the leg to collapse in a flowing river of sand.

Temari looked at the scene in shocked awe "N-no way…such power and control over wind…"

Sasuke looked at the scene with barely suppressed jealousy, this shinobi, who looked no older than himself just used a jutsu that shredded the leg of a demon! Why was he so weak?!

Sakura looked at the destruction that strange jutsu caused and then at Sasuke before shrugging. Her Sasuke-kun could do better if he tried, but he was being kind enough to allow this stranger to waste his energy before destroying the demon himself. Yep, Sasuke-kun was the best!

Haku couldn't help but grin at what he saw. At least now he knew what Naruto had been practising on for so long when they were apart, at least it had results, but by the look of Naruto panting, which he had _never_ seen him do, it must have taken a lot out of him.

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"I warned Gaara-san what would happen if you crossed me, Shukaku-san" Naruto said, recovering his bearings and looking up at the large Tanuki who was visibly seething, now having to balance himself with one of his arms less he want to flail about on the ground without one of its legs "I urge you to go back to your seal before I force you back in there" he said, deadly serious.

"I'LL KILL YOU PUNY FLESH BAG! RENKUDAN!" the tanuki screeched, puffing his chest up and hitting it with his free arm, releasing a drilling bullet of wind in Naruto's direction, the thing was huge, probably as big as a hundred regular shinobi sized Gokakyu no jutsus. Thinking quickly, Naruto used Shunshin to disappear in a burst of speed and reappear to the right of Shukaku, on the side of his shredded leg as he continued to run with all his speed to get behind the large Tanuki.

"RUNNING ARE WE NOW YOU COWARD?! RENKUDAN!" it shrieked, sending two more balls of wind in Naruto's direction, but due to its shredded leg, it couldn't turn quick enough in the direction Naruto was running around it and before it could stop him, Naruto, using chakra to enhance his leap, leapt up onto the Ichibi and stuck to its side using chakra before resuming his scale to the beast's head and ultimately, Gaara.

"GET OFF ME YOU LITLE BUG!" yelled the Ichibi, trying to get him off by using the sand on his body to grip at him but Naruto was simply to quick to be caught and even when he did get snagged twice, he just used Shunshin to get out of the hold. When he finally appeared on the head, he used Shunshin to appear in front of Gaara and slammed him in the stomach with his knee before following the strike up a hit to the solar plexus, quickly waking him up.

"NO! I JUST GOT OUT! DEFEATING BY A MERE HUMAN! THIS IS _SO_ NOT FAIR!!" yelled the Tanuki and to the shock of the onlookers, and jealousy of others, the eyes of the Tanuki dimmed as Gaara awoke, showing that the Tanuki was forced back into it seal.

"You dispelled my technique" Gaara muttered quietly as Naruto stood several before him while glaring. Gaara had to hold back a flinch at the sight of Naruto's eyes, the piercing red slitted eyes of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, not that Gaara knew that.

"I warned you Gaara-san, do not harm my friends, but you didn't listen" Naruto concluded and before Gaara could bring his hands together in another seal, hoping to ensnare this shinobi who dared try and stop him in his sand, a pain erupted in both his arms that shocked him into silence. His arms fell limply by his sides as he looked down in shock to see two kunai embedded in his arms, severing the tendons and ridding him of the use of his arms. He didn't even see his opponent move let alone throw them!

Naruto rushed at Gaara and with an open arm thrust, he struck Gaara in the chest, winding him and relinquishing his hold on the Shukaku, causing both shinobi to plummet to the earth, only one of them remained standing though. As soon his hold on the Shukaku's form relinquished, the hold on Haku also was stopped and he fell safely to the ground, wincing in pain.

"I warned you Gaara-san of what would happen should you not release Haku" Naruto said, though Gaara was ignoring him. _This_ was the strength the boy was speaking of, the strength to protect one's friends. He understood now, when fighting for something, one will become stronger then ever so he could put everything on the line to save them, he was wrong.

Naruto saw that Gaara was barely paying attention to him but he didn't think much of it, taking out a kunai, he aimed it and with a flick of his wrist, he launched it at Gaara's heart, intending on ending his life when in a flash of lavender and black, someone jumped in front of Gaara.

"NO!" yelled Temari, taking the kunai to the back to save her brother. Gaara, expecting to die now that his opponent had bested him stared at his sister in shock as his brother stood up and defended him and Temari from this strong foe.

"Why?" was all Gaara could rasp out in confusion and desperation "Why do you do this for me? Why do you care? Would it not be better for me? A relic of the past, to just die?" he asked, in genual confusion.

Temari, fighting to hold back tears just smiled down at her brother "You're my otouto and I love you" she said, smiling sadly "despite what you may think, both Kankuro and I care for you, why else would we stick by you for so long…please Gaara, lets just go…" she pleaded.

Naruto stood, having now found his straw hat again and replacing it on his head while looking at the scene, ruthlessly crushing the feeling of jealousy the tried to grip his heart at the sight as he took out a stick of Pocky.

"Your sister saved your life" Naruto began "I never miss, that kunai would have killed you" he said as he threw a vial of liquid from his pocket to the guy in black, however, before doing so, he couldn't resist commenting.

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"What's with the footie pyjamas?" he had to ask, ignoring the twitching of the annoyed Kankuro's eyebrows and the strained chuckle coming from Temari, however, Temari was shocked to see a small smile on her younger brother's face also.

"That vial contains the antidote to the poison on the kunai I just used, I suggest you supply it to your sister before her body ceases to function" however Kankuro finally catching up to what was said to him snarled at Naruto "THEY'RE NOT PYJAMAS!" he yelled, to an ignoring audience. Naruto advanced on Gaara, shoving aside the two siblings who tried to get in his way.

"Leave him alone! He can't defend himself!" yelled a furious and desperate Temari after Kankuro applied the antidote to her wound and removed the kunai. As they saw their words not working, they tried to do so with physical force, however, Naruto sensed this and rounded on them and used a 'Kanashibari no Jutsu' by merely looking at them with his eyes after lifting the brim of his hat so they could see him causing them to freeze in place.

Naruto lifted up the shirt of the defenceless Gaara and made a thinking sound as he examined the seal. It was appalling to say the least that a demon such as the Ichibi was being held back by a simple Gogyo seal. However, Naruto knew how he could fix it given that it was already sealed and intertwined with the body of its host.

Taking out his inkpot and brush, Naruto began to paint seals around the Gogyo Fuin on the left side of Gaara's chest before going through a long set of hand seals as his hands began to glow. After around 50 hand seals he slammed his hands into his sealing.

"Fuuinjutsu: Hakke no Fuin Shiki" he yelled, causing Gaara to start screaming in pain and Temari and Kankuro to try valiantly to break their body binds or whatever this strange shinobi had done to them.

After the light had died down, Gaara was panting and looking pale however there was a new intricate design around his Gogyo Fuin that neither of the two who were watching could recognize. Before Gaara could rest though, Naruto continued by snapping all five of his fingers on his right hand together causing his fingertips to light up with blue chakra with the kanji of the five primary elements on each finger, Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water.

"Fuuinjutsu: Gogyo Kaiin" he yelled before slamming his hand into the Gogyo Fuin on Gaara's chest, making him scream out in pain again as the original seal holding back the Shukaku was released. Before the Shukaku could take over again, Naruto called over to Haku who was watching safely from a distance.

"Haku, give me one of those seals I made for you the other week" he said calmly, holding Gaara down as his pupils became yellow like the Shukaku's. Haku did just that and Naruto slammed the O Fuin Seal on Gaara's forehead, causing the Shukaku's chakra to subside.

Temari and Kankuro watched in awe as this shinobi worked his techniques on their brother who seemed to be in pain but judging by the ever so small smile on his face, he liked what was happening.

Naruto took out his brush and inkpot again and where the Gogyo Fuin used to be in the middle of the Hakke no Fuin Shiki design, he painted a spiral before going through 30 hand seals and slamming his hand into Gaara's chest one last time "Fuuinjutsu: Shishou Fuuin".

As soon as the light died down, the seal that Gaara had on his body had changed completely into a strange spiral seal with extra symbols surrounding it. Gaara had passed out at one point with a smile on his face.

"His seal has been fixed, if he continued to act the way it does, he cannot blame it on his demon. He should be able to sleep without the fear of Shukaku effecting his personality also" he explained "Shukaku's influence has effectively been removed from his subconscious however the control over his sand and the demon's chakra remain should he chose to use it" he finished, while panting, the sealing he had just done seemed to have taken a lot out of him.

"Tell him to stop disgracing Jinchuuriki and that this is his second chance, take care of him" he said, releasing his hold on Temari and Kankuro who are no longer paralysed "Come Haku, we should go before the leaf shinobi find us, I need rest" and with a nod, both disappeared using Shunshin, ignoring their other spectators completely, one awed and the other fuming.

Author's Note:

Chunin exams arc end, hope you enjoyed it. No more crappy puppets also, so next time he uses them; I guess he would need to use his _others_.

I really tried to be creative with the new sealing jutsu but I'm not Japanese and I know as much of the language that I could pick up from reading fanfiction and watching anime, which is next to nothing when it comes to learning Japanese, the language is just too damn troublesome. If someone is willing to translate the English names of the ­

techniques of have, like the name of the wind jutsu I showed Naruto using, into proper Japanese like in the show, well, it would be appreciated.

I was having trouble with trying to 'convert' Gaara, seeing as I couldn't see my Naruto talking him through the precious people spiel, Haku still being alive in the incident and Naruto proving how his statements were true were a coincidence, though Naruto was a bit colder about it unlike cannon.

The aftermath in Konoha will be next chap, as well as Oro, though it won't be that different then what happened in cannon.

Adios.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: The Last Straw

Chapter 11: The Last Straw

"It's been a while since we've gathered like this" commented one shadowy figure, his features hidden except for his beady eyes and the silhouette of his large frame.

"Aa, not that we were busy or anything yeah, but since Sasori's death, I've had to deal with this idiot more then I would have liked" commented another shadowy figure.

"Hey, I'm _not_ an idiot Deidara-sempai, I'm just very happy" commented another figure shrouded in shadow in a cheerful tone.

"Enough" commented a monotonous and commanding voice. His eyes, which were the only visible part of his body had several rings in them and just looking in them almost made you dizzy "we are here to discuss the second phase of our plans, by now we have collected more then enough money, despite outside forces trying to take out business away from us" he said, thinking about a certain blonde Jinchuuriki robbing one of the richest men in the world before they could.

"Hai leader-sama, however, are we not at a disadvantage without Sasori-san's participation, or rather, the object that Sasori-san used to participate" asked a certain Sharingan user.

"The loss of Sasori's ring is a great one, without it and Orochimaru's it will take much longer to extract a bijou from a host's body, especially through the seal of the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki's" the leader explained, however, a soft and calm voice interrupted further proceedings.

"The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki may be more trouble for us then we first anticipated" he said, before his voice became deeper and more scratchy, his accent and dialect changed also "he has proved to be more skilled then we could have ever imagined, to the point where he defeated the Ichibi after it was released outside of Gaara-san's seal" his voice changed again, signaling that this person seemed to have somewhat of a split personality "he was also able to, with his own skill, reinforce the seal on the Ichibi, to the point where it will be just as strong as his own" he said, going quiet after finishing. Everyone else in the room seemed to be contemplating these words in silence until another spoke.

"What exactly happened? I assume you were there?" the person asked, which also happened to be the question on everyone's mind.

"Yesterday, during the failed invasion on Konoha where the Sandaime Hokage perished but managed to seal away our former associate's arms with the Shiki Fujin, Uzumaki-san saved his partner, who I have discovered to be someone by the name of Haku, from an out of control Gaara, or rather, an Ichibi influenced Sabaku no Gaara" his more calm personality stated, only to have his other side take over the explanation "he arrived on the scene when Gaara-san was in his full transformed form and used puppets to delay tones of sand from crushing his friend" he said, pausing to let that sink in.

"You don't think…?" began the only female of the group, directing the unasked question to their leader.

"He seems to be quite skillful in Kugutsu, Genjutsu and Fuuinjutsu, that, paired with the fact that Sasori reported in less and less right before he died and his ring is still missing could mean that he raised and trained the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, which means he would have betrayed us" said their Leader, without as much anger as one would think he would have.

"From what my spies tell me, he used them with an amount of skill within Konoha that could only be compared to Sasori himself, I think it's most likely" said the woman, as a paper butterfly floated down onto her shoulder that could be seen through the silhouette before sinking into her skin.

"Uzumaki-san held off the Ichibi until Gaara-san released its spirit into his manifestation, effectively releasing the demon from its seal" began the calmer personality before the darker one took over "he then proceeded to use a jutsu when sand was about to engulf him that seemed to expel wind based chakra from all of his tenketsu that he used and spun into the form of a razor sharp and quite destructive tornado" he explained before revealing the next part of the jutsu's damage "the tornado destroyed the Ichibi's leg" he commented, hearing quite murmurs from some of the members as he said so, the leader's own eyes were peering into his own as well, as if looking into his soul.

"From there, it wasn't much of a fight, he got to Gaara-san on the demon's head, knocked him out and finished him off" he said as the darker side took over "he would have killed the Jinchuuriki too had his siblings not stepped in, he then proceeded to alter Gaara-san's seal using the Hakke no Fuin Shiki and removing the Gogyo Fuin. I did not examine it and I do not know much of Fuuinjutsu, but from what I do know, it is now much stronger then it was before" he explained, waiting for his leader to tell them what he thought.

"Before, it would have taken a maximum of four days to remove the Ichibi's presence from the Jinchuuriki, now though, with the seals you informed me of, it could take up to a maximum of two weeks. The Hakke no Fuin Shiki is a ­

very powerful seal, the only reason it wasn't applied earlier was because it usually goes hand in hand with the Shiki Fujin seal, but, Uzumaki-san seemed to have found a way to apply it once the demon is already sealed. No doubt he suppressed the demon's chakra in the process?" asked the Leader to Zetsu, who nodded in reply.

"From the information you have delivered to us, it would seem that the best person to track down the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki would be Itachi-san, his control over his chakra and ability to manipulate his fire based chakra gives him an advantage over him, not to mention the Kyuubi's Genjutsus will not effect him" he said, getting nods all around save from Itachi who was smart enough not to underestimate any future opponent, though he kept silent about it.

"What do you know of his partner?" asked the Leader, directing the question to Zetsu who replied in kind.

"He seemed to have a bloodline which allowed him to create and manipulate water like no other" he said "he was able to utilize the particles in the air to use a Suiryudan no Jutsu, no one has had that much control since the Nidaime Hokage of Konoha or a certain clan in Kiri whose bloodline seems to revolve around manipulating water as such" he explained "I would estimate the latter, honestly. He also seems to be proficient in Ninjutsu though I have not seen him use other skills. His speed is impressive too, though not as good as Uzumaki-san's" he said, finishing on that and proving why he was the spy of their organization once again.

"I trust, Kisame-san" said the Leader "That you will be able to take care of such an enemy?" asked the leader and he got a shark like grin in response as the dark silhouette hefted a sword shaped object over his shoulder.

"We are not prepared to perform the sealing of the bijou as of yet, that will take a few more years" began the leader "but should you be able to detain the Jinchuuriki or demon you come across in any way, do not hesitate to do so, otherwise merely observe and stand off" he said, before disappearing in a way that seemed like his transmission had ended. Before he did so however, there was a chorus of 'Understood' coming from the mouth of every member as they too disappeared.

Haku watched as Naruto lay on the bed at the inn they decided to stop at. They had been running non stop after dealing with Gaara at the conclusion of the invasion and that combined with how much his fight and the sealing took out of him, well, Naruto was absolutely exhausted; that on its own, was something that surprised Haku, he had never seen him so tired before, let alone pass out because he was so tired. He also knew that if someone faints from chakra exhaustion, it is best to let them recover naturally rather then fix them medically, like he did with himself. He too was tired after the long run to the inn in the Sakana town but he used one of his soldier pills to fix that right up.

For some reason unknown to Haku though, Naruto seemed to be running a fever for the past few hours which greatly confused the ice using boy. It began shortly after he passed out from chakra exhaustion and only seemed to be getting worse; he only hoped that it had nothing to do with the Kyuubi, at present time, which would probably be the worst case scenario.

Haku smiled slightly when he remembered how Naruto fought for his life when Gaara had him pinned to the tree with his sand. He made a task of it to stay conscious to see the effort Naruto put forward to save his life – any thoughts that Naruto was simply using him and stringing him along were instantly gone when he saw the ruthlessness of Naruto's attack on Gaara. Also, Naruto's fixing of the seal of Gaara's was another action that pleased the boy greatly, if only so that in the future, the two would become close friends. He hoped they did anyway, if he ever was to see Gaara's sister again, he thought, with a slightly perverted giggle.

His thoughts were interrupted when Naruto woke up with a hiss of pain as he held onto his head as if his brain was about to explode.

"Argh!" he yelled, seemingly oblivious of his surroundings. Haku watched in fascinated horror as vile red chakra seemed to be pouring out of Naruto's pores, as well as blood. The whisker marks on his cheeks also seemed to get more ragged and defined as well as his hair becoming more frizzled.

"**Haku**" he began, addressing his companion in a voice not his own "**quick, get a suppressor seal from my pouch**" he ground out with difficulty while still grabbing his head "**the fox is trying to get out**" he hissed and Haku needed no more prompting as he fond the suppressant seal and slammed it on his forehead, knocking Naruto out cold again as the red chakra receded back into his body. Haku let out an involuntary shiver once Naruto passed out, if the killing intent he felt flaring from the blonde was any indication, killing intent that didn't feel demonic in the slightest, the fox better hope he could protect itself from Naruto's wrath.

Naruto appeared in his subconscious right before the large cage that held the Kyuubi in his mind. The fox seemed to be trying to send wave upon wave of chakra through the gate which had been increased in strength due to his suppressant seal. Naruto was hoping the fox wouldn't try anything like this ever, for he knew it would be a possibility. Ever since he had 'taken' the fox's senses as his own, he had knowingly weakened the seal slightly; however, it didn't matter so long as he had enough chakra to reinforce the seal. He knew that should he faint from chakra exhaustion that the Kyuubi could legitimately make an effort to possess his body and free itself form the seal, he had just hoped that the demon would have more honor then to try such an underhanded task, especially after the major mercy he had given it with allowing it to see, hear and smell through his very own senses.

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Naruto looked upon the snarling and furious form of the fox, slamming its body against the cage in an effort to get to him, however his stance did not waver. Naruto met its gaze with equal if not greater fury, his own killing intent sent right back at the fox, his lack of fear of the fox and his desire to cause the underhanded coward as much harm as possible making his killer intent spike higher then the Kyuubi's, causing it to pause.

"You dare" he spoke in a calm yet deadly voice, promising pain and punishment "you dare try this, after everything I've done for you? After showing you mercy by giving you a small sense of freedom?" he said, taking menacing steps closer to the cage, completely ignoring the fox who was swiping at the cage, hoping to hit him but to no avail, these actions however only caused Naruto's fury to rise "You dare try to free yourself in such an underhanded manner? You are nothing more then a coward and a weakling with no sense of honor" he said, his red slitted eyes glaring at the Kyuubi with hatred "you are a disgrace to the title of 'lord of hell' and you have tried my patience for the last time" he said, taking menacing steps forward, so close that he was mere inches away from the cage yet still glaring at the Kyuubi.

"**YOU DARE CALL ME WEAK AND PATHETIC YOU FLESH BAG?!" **the Kyuubi yelled in rage **"WERE IT NOT FOR YOU STUPID LITTLE GENDER CONFUSED FRIEND, I WOULD HAVE HAD YOU ON YOUR KNEES BEGGING FOR MERCY!" **it seethed, slamming into the cage over and over, not willing to show any fear at the killing intent radiating off the boy and the look of hate and disgust on its face.

"Be that as it may" Naruto said, controlling his voice now to reign in his hatred for the beast before him "It would seem that I have been too lenient with you" he said, his eyes flashing as he backed up some, the mere presence of the fox seemingly disgusting him "I didn't even care what you did before you were captured like the weakling you are" he began, shocking the fox "you're a fifty story _demon_ fox who was most likely hungry. Hating you for attacking Konoha would be like hating any human that eats meat from defenseless animals, no, I don't hate you because of that" he said, turning his back on the Kyuubi "I hate you because you are a coward of a being without honor and after the mercy I showed you, you tried to spit on my face, spit back the generosity I showed you and the mercy I granted" he said, pausing before continuing "You have proved that I cannot trust you, so I am going to seal off all of your own senses from your body and then seal your subconscious away from your chakra, you will be nothing, you will always be nothing, your chakra will remain in my body, continuously being converted into my own and you will forever know the darkness you seem to be so fond of" he said, turning back to the fox, who looked horrified at the prospect "I do not fear you, but you will be one of the many to know why I should be feared Kyuubi no Kitsune. I hope the isolation and darkness you will be subject to will drive you into madness, I have no sympathy" he finished, disappearing out of his subconscious leaving a panicked, fearful and furious fox behind him yelling profanities and promises of death which they both knew he could not grant.

Haku with a start, noticed that Naruto had opened his eyes and completely ignored his presence, but by the furious look in his eyes, a look he had _never_ seen the boy wear – heck, he had never even seen him get _angry_ let alone furious – he knew that whatever the Kyuubi had done, Naruto was none to pleased with it.

Without so much as making a seal, a Kage Bunshin appeared beside Naruto and Naruto handed it an ink pot and a brush before removing his cloak, hat and every other bit of clothing on the top half of his body. The original Naruto then lay down on the ground while the clone began painting seals on his body.

"I'm sealing off the Kyuubi's senses from his subconscious and then I'm sealing off his subconscious into separate places in my seal" explained Naruto to Haku, who was watching with fascination as the complexities of the seals Naruto was painting on himself were done, with extreme precision and speed too "he will, in essence, exist in nothingness, he will not be able to see, hear, touch, spell or taste anything again and his subconscious will only know nothingness until the day I die, in which he will die with me and pass on into nothingness" he finished, with venom in his voice.

Haku stared at Naruto in shock; that was…truly…a cruel fate for anyone, even if it was a demon. As if sensing his thoughts though, Naruto continued "he spat in my face when he tried to take over my body after I showed him the mercy of allowing him to experience my life with me from behind his prison cell. That beast is despicable, lacking honor and a disgrace, he deserves everything he will get" Naruto said in conviction. Haku just resigned himself on watching the clone Naruto painting the complex seals all over the top half of Naruto's body, at one point, he had to do so while Naruto stood up so he could paint seals all over his back too. Haku frowned at how much symbols were being drawn all over his body, however, Naruto decided to elaborate for his confused friend.

"It is no mere feat to seal off the demon's subconscious and separate his senses from his body, in essence" Naruto said, grimacing slightly as the clone painted a seal over his rib cage, which made Haku smirk, it seemed Naruto was a little ticklish "I am tearing his soul into smaller pieces and sealing them in different places in my seal. The only part I will have access to are the senses I have previously been granted and the chakra, though indirectly" he finished explaining as he began to gather chakra in his hands after dispelling the clone.

"You brought this upon yourself Kyuubi" Naruto muttered and Haku watched in fascination as the suppressant seal seemed to burn on Naruto's forehead as the skin around it sizzled, the Kyuubi's last ditched effort to escape its fate, but it was too little too late.

"FUIN!" yelled Naruto, slamming his hand into the seal on his stomach as he fought to remain standing as all the seals painted all over his body began to crawl all over his skin and recede into the seal on his stomach. Naruto's mouth was ­

opened in a silent scream and his eyes were wide with pain, and Haku could only imagine how much pain his friend would be going through. Once the seals all receded into the seal though, his eyes rolled into the back of his head and Naruto fell back onto the bed, the new and exposed seal for all to see.

Haku observed the seal and noticed, with fascination, that it looked much more complicated. The spiral in the centre showing small if not miniscule symbols going all around it on both sides all through the spiral and around the entire seal there was glowing red symbols in a circular shape, most likely the part of the Kyuubi's subconscious. After several moments of the seal glowing red, it disappeared, leaving Naruto's naked and sweat covered torso while Haku placed a cold rag on his forehead and tucked him into bed.

Haku sighed, resigning himself to his fate of being the 'night watchman' until Naruto awoke from his slumber.

Jiraiya of the sannin sighed another time as he looked through the lens of his super quality telescope, right into the bathhouse, or more specifically, the woman's side of the bathhouse. The man was a shameless pervert and proud of it, however, if you told him that, he would surely correct you and tell you that, no, he was not a pervert, he was a SUPER pervert.

However, this day was not one of the days where he put as much effort into his perverted antics. His late sensei, the Sandaime Hokage of Konoha, had recently died from using a self sacrificing technique that summoned the Shinigami to the mortal realm to devour the users and their enemy's souls. The technique wasn't as successful as he would have liked, Jiraiya was sure, but he was at least able to get the Shinigami to devour the souls of Orochimaru's arms, stopping him from ever using jutsu again – though, he supposed that taking the soul of his head would have probably been better in retrospect.

After his death, there was a mass funeral service held in his honor, as well as to honor every other leaf shinobi who died protecting their village from invasion, though as cruel as it may sound, no one really valuable died during the invasion, mostly those of chunin rank.

What surprised Jiraiya the most though was the reports he received from the battles happening all around Konoha, namely two reports in particular. The ANBU who were watching the battle between the Sandaime and Orochimaru reported to him that Naruto had arrived on the scene, causing carnage with his puppets to any Suna or Oto nin who tried to cut him down, and sadly, a few Konoha shinobi who tried to cut him down also, the ones who were stupid enough to try anyway. When he arrived on the scene, they reported how he expertly analyzed the barrier erected by the Oto shinobi and how he diagnosed its effects, however, that was not what confused and surprised him. What had really got him pondering lately were the reports of the Shodaime and Nidaime addressing him directly, giving him their blessings for _something _that he had done, he just wanted to know what that was exactly. He wasn't sure if he should be amused or wary about that fact, but as for now, he didn't know enough to be either.

The second report that was the more annoying of the two _by far_ to get and the most interesting was the report given by one Uchiha Sasuke about the battle between a missing-nin from Kirigakure by the name of Haku and Sabaku no Gaara, then the subsequent report of the fight between Naruto and Gaara. Jiraiya honestly had to restrain himself from smacking the kid around for jealously trying to hold the information about the fight to himself for some stupid reason, though, after threatening to get a Yamanaka to go into his mind and find out anyway, he caved with one of the Uchiha death glares to boot.

Apparently, this Haku kid was able to fight on par with Gaara until he transformed into his massive tanuki state, however, according to reports, he wasn't going for the kill; rather, he was trying to dissuade Gaara. Was it because he would have attacked the leaf? Or rather, what he has contained and what that therefore makes him. Judging by the boy's company, he assumed the latter.

What surprised him the most though was the reports of Naruto arriving on the scene and sacrificing three of his puppets to save Haku. Jiraiya knew the significance of a puppet user's puppets to the user, especially given the time they spend caring for them and making them stronger. It obviously showed that he cared more for his comrade then his puppets, which was rare from his experiences of fighting alongside some of Suna's Kugutsu users during the war. Also, Naruto had apparently used an extremely high powered futon jutsu that created a tornado and shredded the leg of the Shukaku to nothing. If that wasn't amazing enough, the defeating of a _released_ Shukaku and the subsequent sealing or enhancing of the seal on Gaara baffled him. The boy seemed to be full of surprises but for some strange reason, he couldn't find a reason to feel threatened. How can someone who would fight to save their friend's life, not to mention go up against a demon, be considered evil at all?

His musings were cut short when he sensed Sarutobi's two old teammates approach him from behind. He never really had much love for the two advisers on the council Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane respectively. They were nothing like Sarutobi and he just knew they were supporters of Danzo's, the war hawk of Konoha and Sarutobi's biggest rival and opposition on the council.

"What is it?" asked Jiraiya curtly, not looking away from the gorgeous women he was spying in the hot springs. Regardless of his mood, they _were_ naked women, and _that_ was something Jiraiya always had time for.

­

"When will you give up on your lecherous ways?" asked Koharu, the old woman always thought she had some sort of pull in regards to him and it annoyed him to no end. Jiraiya reported to two people and two people alone, his old sensei and Tsunade, his fellow Sannin. To think that these old fools thought they held any sway over his actions was irritating and insulting at the same time.

"I doubt you're here to try and lecture me, so I repeat; what is it you want?" asked Jiraiya, allowing signs of irritation to creep into his voice, mainly because of their attitudes but also because he sort of knew what they wanted anyway.

"You will show respect to the elders of Konoha Jiraiya-kun" stated Homura, in his best 'intimidating' voice. Jiraiya had to really fight the urge to snort; these two thought they could intimidate him? The only person who could successfully do that was Tsunade and perhaps Sarutobi a couple of years back, these two were nothing.

"Yes, yes, you're very scary, now are you going to tell me what you want? Because if you're not, three new beautiful women just entered the springs and they're getting undressed as we speak" he said, lying, though he would have loved it if it were true. He just said it because he knew his behavior annoyed the two elders to no end.

Trying to calm himself, Homura spoke "The village needs a new Hokage, and you are the only possible choice to take the seat" he said, awaiting an answer.

"Oh well, that's easy" said Jiraiya sarcastically "No" he said, looking at them with dead seriousness "besides, I have other duties to this village that being Hokage would severely if not completely hinder" he said, and both the elders knew this so he wondered what they were playing at.

"Who else would you suggest then?" asked Koharu, her temper getting the better of her. Her 'old granny getting angry' may have worked on Tsunade, but not on him.

"Probably Tsunade-hime, though it would be a pain for you guys to try and find her" he said, with a shrug, trying to remember when it was exactly he lost respect for the elders of this village.

"Then you can go and find her and bring her back" she said, narrowing her eyes at him, which was an interesting feat as the old bat's eyes always seemed closed.

"Is that an order" he asked, raising his eyebrow.

"It is a mission that the joint council will send you on and compensate you for" Homura said "we need a Hokage and no one, interestingly enough, is willing to take it and obviously, Danzo's appointment was opposed by more then a few so we need someone" he finished as Jiraiya shrugged.

"Sure, I was heading in that direction soon anyway, I think I know where she is" he said, eyeing the two elders as they seemed to converse silently with each other while they thought he wasn't looking.

"We'll be sending three jounin with you, to aid you of course" she said, making Jiraiya snort.

"Or rather, to make sure I don't skip out on the village, whatever, whose coming?" he asked, while pocketing his telescope in one of his scroll pouches.

"We will send the only three currently free jounin we have with you, Shiranui Genma, Mitarashi Anko and Hatake Kakashi" Koharu provided, making Jiraiya's eyebrow rise in surprise.

"Genma I understand, but the other two surprise me, if I were to be honest" he said, eyeing his two 'superiors' shrewdly "When did the council become so _trusting_ of Mitarashi Anko all of a sudden to send her on such an important non-suicidal mission? And what of Kakashi's genin team, I would have thought the Uchiha brat was more important to your egos then to leave him untrained" he said dryly, making the two elder's eyebrows twitch in annoyance.

"Anko-san is going with you because she is one of the only three jounin we have free, we do not and we never _will_ trust her" Koharu said with venom in her voice, making Jiraiya's eyes narrow, he kind of felt sorry for the girl knowing how hard she tries to prove her loyalty, this could only end bad in his opinion "and for Kakashi-kun, Uchiha Sasuke will be hospitalized due to his injuries for another month and the Hyuuga can train with her clan" she said, totally ignoring the pink haired one, making Jiraiya smirk – he didn't much care about that, the girl was probably more interested in the Uchiha anyway.

"Fine, whatever. Tell them to meet me at the southern gate at noon tomorrow so we can leave" he said, before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"Are you sure that was wise?" asked Homura to his female teammate, getting a shrug from Koharu.

­

"There will be an ANBU team following them to ascertain if they do their jobs correctly, one of Danzo's ROOT teams. They will not be spotted and we can make sure their jobs are done correctly as well as keep an eye on Mitarashi-san and Jiraiya-kun" she said, shrugging again.

"You make it sound as if you _want_ Mitarashi-san to do something punishable by the council…" trailed off Homura, smirking at the end of his statement. His smirk was mirrored on Koharu's face, making it an interesting sight to behold.

"What of the Kyuubi brat?" Koharu asked as Homura shrugged.

"I have sent three of our best Hunter-nin teams after him, though from the reports of the battles he was involved in during the invasion, do you think it wise to pursue him?" asked Homura "It's not like he is a danger to the village anymore…"

Koharu sighed "Danzo said he wants to make him our weapon, a weapon for the leaf. He always had and honestly, if the old war hawk can break him and put him in our control, we would be a force to be reckoned with once again, no one would dare oppose us when we have the most powerful bijou at our disposal" she spoke in a hushed tone. They both smirked again before leaving the balcony they were standing on, completely missing the seething kunoichi hanging upside down from underneath the balcony. With a flash of tan and purple, she was gone, the two elders none the wiser.

It was a week after Naruto had successfully sealed away the fox permanently and they were now headed towards a remote merchant city called Tanzaku city. Naruto had apparently, using his spy network, derived where Orochimaru was heading next. After the Sandaime had rendered the man's arms useless, he sought out the only person that could possibly heal such damage in the land, and that person was Tsunade of the Sannin. The woman was famous for her slug summons and being the greatest medical ninja in the land, another thing she was famous for was her rumored superhuman strength. That topic was something that interested Naruto almost as much as Orochimaru's whereabouts. It obviously required legendary chakra control, otherwise more and more people would utilize such techniques, so he longed to discover the secrets behind it. Whenever he found something he didn't know, he always got the urge to discover it, Haku often teased him by telling him that he has a 'knowledge fetish' which he put no effort toward denying.

They were now roughly two days away from Tanzaku city now when Naruto's superior sense of smell picked up the scent of four shinobi closing in on their destination. Fast.

The scent reminded him of the smell of the Konoha ANBU, it was something unique about the trees in that area, he mused, and also the shinobi 'cologne' they used in an attempt to remain 'scentless' actually did have a distinctive scent, it was just harder to pick up, though it did have a uniqueness about it that helped Naruto discover them easier. These were most likely Hunter-nin after his head, though, to be honest, he was surprised they took so long.

"We have company"

Haku looked at his partner and frowned. Sure enough, after concentrating hard enough, he heard the sound of four shinobi racing in their direction, they weren't aiming to be too discrete now anymore and it would prove to be their downfall.

"What should we do?" Haku asked his intellectual superior.

Naruto turned to him, his ever present hat still on, though his cloak open revealing him to be sucking on a stick of pocky. He smirked slightly which sent small shivers down his spine – Naruto simply did not smirk often if at all if it wasn't related to Pocky.

"I am in need of new puppets" was all he got as an answer which confused Haku. How did that correlate to the four hunter-nin chasing them down? He had a sinking suspicion that he would find out soon and that he wouldn't like the answer all too much when he did.

Haku watched as Naruto prepared for their visitors as he hid in the trees, knowing he was of more use if his presence was a surprise then outright letting them see him. Masking his scent with a well placed 'Meisaigakure no Jutsu' which made him virtually invisible and odorless; he waited to see what would happen while taking out a handful of Senbon needles just in case.

Naruto patiently waited in the clearing while leaning against a tree and munching on some pocky, he had foregone his usually straw hat in favor of his more recognizable appearance, it wouldn't do if these hunter-nin were amateurs and somehow didn't recognize him, though it was highly unlikely, he would not chase after them if they did overlook him and look the fool.

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Suddenly, in four blurs, four shinobi appeared in front of him in menacing stances, feeling proud of themselves he was sure, arms on hips and casually twirling their kunai in their hands while staring at him through their hunter-nin masks. Hunter-nin didn't specifically have any assigned uniforms though a lot of them wore the standard ANBU gear simply for its efficiency and comfort, as these four showed.

"Can I interest you in a stick of Pocky?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow as the four hunter-nin stared at him in silence. He did feel a small spike of killer intent though from two of them that were quickly controlled at his blaze attitude toward this seemingly large threat.

"I guess not" he said, sighing dramatically, as they continued their stubborn silence while glaring at him, trying to unease him. Honestly, he stared down the Kyuubi while he effectively killed it, how could these four possibly dream of unsettling him.

"Uzumaki Naruto, you are a wanted criminal of Konohagakure no Sato and as such, you will be brought to justice" said the one standing closest to him, probably their leader. Naruto simply raised his eyebrow in response though he showed no other outward sign of emotion.

As Naruto kept his silence, still leaning against the tree, two of the hunter-nin struck in a blaze of movement, one female and one male. As the closed in on him, they realized something was probably wrong as he didn't move a muscle, though they just put it off as a kid being scared by their presence, he was young after all. One of the hunters threw several shuriken at Naruto while the other went through rapid hand seals.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu"

The one coming from the right shot a decent sized fireball at him while the one on the left attempted to cancel out his avenues of escape with thrown weapons blocking the path. Naruto sighed quietly as he performed a Kawarimi, replacing himself a log only to reappear several meters away from the place he was just in. The leader was seemingly prepared for this movement though as he appeared behind him and stabbed a kunai in his lower back, hoping to sever his nerves and paralyze him.

"That wasn't very smart" was all Naruto said before exploding in a cloud of purple smoke, poison. The leader had no chance; he was unable to avoid the poison in time as he wasn't expecting it and inhaled a fair amount of it. In a matter of seconds, he wavered and fell to the ground asleep. Naruto was able to create numerous amounts of poison clouds to be held within his Doku Bunshin, however, the ones he used the most were the anesthetic poison, nerve damaging poison and flesh eating poison to people he really didn't like. The last one of the three took a fair bit more chakra to create though so he used it sparingly.

At the sound of the body dropping, the three remaining hunter-nin whirled in his direction and that was a big mistake. Haku, seeing an opening, fired several dozen Senbon at the backs of his opponents, they traveled silently in the wind and each laced with paralyzing poison. The poison took affect almost instantly, though, just in case, Naruto paralyzed them with a well placed Kanashibari no jutsu used through his eyes.

Haku jumped down into the clearing and removed the Meisaigakure no jutsu and if the hunter-nin didn't have their masks on, Naruto was sure they would have opened their eyes wide in fear or surprise.

"I have a question" asked Naruto, as he took out another stick of Pocky and stood before them "who sent you?" he asked, wanting to know who was running the show now that the old Hokage was dead. His question was met with silence, causing him to frown slightly. Moving over to the only female of the group, he ripped her mask off revealing, to his surprise, an Inuzaka. Frowning slightly, his ears twitched slightly and he spun around, three kunai already in hand as he flicked three kunai at three nin-dogs that had leapt at him through the bushes. The kunai hit each dog in non vital places; they too were covered in a paralyzing poison meant for humans, making it much more potent on the three canines.

"Tell me who sent you or I'll kill your friends" Naruto promised in a deadly voice, three more kunai appearing from someplace within his sleeve into his hands and holding them up for the girl to see. The pretty girl's eyes widened in fear and sadness as her eyes darted toward her whining companions. Despite her best efforts, silent tears fell from her eyes but what could she do? If she told him, he would probably kill them all anyway and they would have given up vital information anyway.

Naruto narrowed his eyes and nodded before moving over to the next man and ripping off his mask revealing someone he did not or could not recognize "You are all trying my patience, you will tell me who sent you or you will suffer pain in the likes you have never dreamed" he said, his red eyes apparently scaring the man shitless if his widened eyes were anything to go by. Hearing no answer forthcoming, Naruto cast a Genjutsu on the man before him and before long, everyone in the clearing was privy to seeing the man, his eyes glazed over, screaming in horrid pain. The scream sounded inhuman as he tried his best to fight off the paralysis but to no avail.

The screaming lasted for a good ten minutes before Naruto stopped it; they had become silent screams however after five minutes into the Genjutsu as his throat was most likely damaged from screaming. Removing the Genjutsu, Naruto saw the man's eyes come back into focus to meet his deadly red eyes, which only seemed to frighten him more now ­

then before. Haku idly wondered what he had put the man through, though he only felt little sympathy – they did attack him first.

"Haku, please heal his throat so he may speak" Naruto ordered and Haku did so with his hands glowing a soft blue as a cooling and pleasant sensation overcame the man's throat, enough for him to talk.

"You will tell me who sent you or I'll leave that Genjutsu on you until you are driven into insanity" Naruto ordered, gradually raising his killer intent to frighten the man more "you have 10 seconds, decide" Naruto said, stepping back. Naruto watched the man sweat and look around wildly as he counted down out aloud, only causing further mental stress.

"One" finished Naruto as he advanced closer to reapply the Genjutsu.

"No! NO! Please! Ok, ok, I'll talk" the man said, sounding defeated "Danzo, it was Danzo on the orders of two of the elder advisors of the council, they said that now that the Sandaime was dead they could circumvent the order to not engage you and sent four teams after you…please…no more" he said, as he broke down sobbing. Naruto was not without mercy and granted the man a quick death, snapping his neck before he knew what was going on.

As the two remaining shinobi looked at him in fear and dread, he took out a piece of pocky and began to chew on it casually. Haku began to feel a little queasy at the torture and interrogation, but watched nonetheless, he wanted to make sure he didn't go too far and he did end the man's pain who would have probably been scared for life anyway had he not.

"What do you two think of Pocky?" asked Naruto idly, chewing on his pocky stick. The Inuzaka just let more tears fall, thinking she too would die now, too far gone in her dread to think she would survive anyway. The other man however probably said the dumbest thing he could have possibly said at that time and he paid for it dearly.

"How about you take that piece of pocky and shove it up your ass!" he yelled, obviously distraught over his friend's killing. Naruto didn't even give the man a chance to regret what he said, flicking his wrist and sending a kunai into the man's throat. He watched coldly as the man died by choking on his own blood.

"That…was the wrong answer" Naruto said, in a low and deadly voice "insulting my pocky like that…tsk" he said, much to Haku's and the remaining conscious hunter-nin's shock. Naruto then walked over to the incapacitated captain and snapped his neck too.

Naruto then walked over to the girl and looked her in the eyes, mere curiosity in his depths as he gazed into her helpless and grief stricken face. Naruto raised an eyebrow before speaking.

"What's your name?" he asked, curious.

Seeing no point in keeping her silence, she choked out "Inuzaka Hana" she said, trying her best to regain her composure "Please, if you have to kill me, I understand, just please send my companions back to Konoha unharmed, they didn't do anything wrong" she said, sounding defeated. Naruto cocked his head to the side and shook his head.

"You will not die" he said, much to her shock "out of the three of you, you were the only one who didn't engage me directly or show signs of hate and anger, you were simply doing your job and killing you would be unnecessary anyway" he said with a shrug "your partners however will become my new puppets, so they will at least be of use to me" he said, shocking Haku and Hana even more.

"You can tell this Danzo that anyone else sent after me will not be granted the same mercy as you and that I will kill him and his two advisors should they attempt this again" he said, sounding deadly serious. Naruto then walked over to the three bodies and sealed them away in some scrolls before forcing a vial of liquid down Hana's throat and leaving another in her still paralysed hand "the effects will ware off in around half an hour, that antidote in your hand should be enough to cure your pets too" he said, walking away with the three bodies of her team mates and Haku in tow, however, before he was completely out of earshot, he said one last parting comment "and my name is Namikaze Naruto, not Uzumaki" and with that, he left.

After the effect of the paralysing poison wore off, Hana looked into the direction Naruto had left with a small frown. She was certain that Danzo knew of their target's skill level and regardless, he still sent a relatively inexperienced team that was designed to target B to A class criminals after him. Also, the usage of their Yondaime's name was a shock to her system as well, mainly because he definitely did resemble their late Yondaime in appearance. With that thought, she removed the paralysing effects of the poison from her dogs and headed back to Konoha, promising to not waste the mercy Namikaze Naruto had shown her and engage him again.

Jiraiya sighed for the umpteenth time during this mission. For some reason, Anko was even more irritable then usual, he wasn't sure why though and he wasn't in the mood to risk his life by asking. Genma had told him though that she had been acting like this ever since the death of Sarutobi-sensei and he understood somewhat after that, especially ­

with what he overheard from the two old fools who thought he had left after their little meeting. Could she have heard them? Does she know how they feel about her? Does it even matter with the way the villagers treat her? It's a wonder Konoha hasn't been burned to the ground yet with the ignorant and idiotic villagers shunning one powerful shinobi after the next. First it was Orochimaru, then Anko, then Itachi and finally Naruto. Itachi was a more special case, but regardless, he snapped due to the village's actions, or at least, that was his opinion.

Turning to the left, he saw Anko walking beside him, a scowl placed on her beautiful features as she stared straight ahead, her face showing she was pissed at the world but her eyes were empty, hollow and devoid of life. Looking to his right, his hid a small smirk, if there was such a thing as a fan boy, Kakashi was the king of them all. When he had first heard he was going on a mission with the Gama sannin, he was practically skipping with his favourite issue for 'Icha Icha' for him to sign, he did it quickly too before Anko could see it, she was deadly when angry.

"Do you know exactly where Tsunade-sama is currently located Jiraiya-sama?" asked Genma, a slightly bored and nonchalant tinge to his request, even if it was respectful. Jiraiya just nodded in response, not bothering to look behind him to where the man was located.

"Yeah, she's in the next city up ahead, Tanzaku city, just try not to piss her off…she's very…irritable and if we anger her, it will just make it all the more harder to get her to come back and be Hokage…" he said, pausing shortly before continuing "and I don't want to put up with the old farts on the council harassing me if we fail this mission" he concluded with a grumble. All three of the males in the group looked over to Anko whose killing intent flared slightly at the mention of the council. Jiraiya was now sure that she had overheard the council's opinion of her somehow. Jiraiya sighed as their makeshift group continued on their path.

Tsunade of the Sannin sat at the bar doing what she does best second only to losing money, drinking sake. Orochimaru had just paid her a visit earlier that day telling her that if she healed his arms, he would, at the cost of two human sacrifices, resurrect her old love and long dead brother. It was a tempting offer and the fact that she was seriously considering it was seriously disgusting her, however, she couldn't help but consider it.

Ever since the two most important people in her life died with her not being able to do anything about it, she had hated anything relating to the position of Hokage or Konoha, well, she was more bitter then hating, but there was definitely a serious dislike present. It had been that damnable title that had caused her loved ones to sacrifice themselves so foolishly, as they had deluded themselves into thinking that they could become Hokages if they that thrice damned self sacrificing attitude.

Ever since their deaths, she would often think of them and how empty she felt now that she was all alone in the world, her only solace being her old lover's niece and also her apprentice Shizune who had become more of a caretaker to the fifty year old woman, as much as she would hate to admit it, she _had_ become somewhat reliant on her and also found herself enjoying her company.

With another sigh, she ignored the disapproving look from her assistant and slurped down another bottle of Sake, hoping to drink away her problems. She had a week to ponder on Orochimaru's offer after all.

Naruto stood on a small cliff overlooking Tanzaku city with a slightly queasy Haku by his side. At first, Haku had no idea what he meant by saying that he needed those leaf shinobi's bodies to be used as puppets but after witnessing how he, with barely any hesitation, drained the blood, removed the bodies' entrails and peeled their skins off, well, he was sure he would never watch Naruto make his puppets again. Sure, the way he described how they worked, they definitely sounded effective, however it didn't make it any less sickening to watch him so callously salvage their bodies so.

When Haku had asked Naruto if it was absolutely necessary to make new puppets and if he had any others, he responded by saying that he did indeed have others, indicating to the sealing tattoos on his forearms, but they weren't quite to be used in combat. The way he described it almost made Haku forget how disgusting the process was just so he could see the puppets sealed in his arms that were guaranteed to be a spectacular sight to see, especially if he had been working on them for so long. Especially given how effective his regular original creation puppets worked, and speaking of which, he had salvaged the spare parts of said puppets to outfit his three new human puppets with weapons and contraptions to make them more combat efficient, it was with a fascinated horror that Haku watched Naruto work and he thanked Kami that he had decided to heal his almost dead body on that day instead of making it into a puppet.

Haku looked at Naruto in confusion when he saw him tense ever so slightly, however, he too tensed when he felt, not too long after Naruto noticed it, two presences appear behind them.

"I wasn't expecting you so soon…Itachi-san"

Author's Note:

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Throw some reviews on what you think so far, I thank people who like the story, but leaving one word reviews does me more of a disservice then anything, I want my review count to be a measure of rating my own story, when people leave pointless reviews, it's just that, pointless and the number means nothing. If you must though, I guess I can't stop you.

On another note, can someone recommend a good fic for me, 20k words plus, NO HINATA, SAKURA, INO pairings and Naruto isn't an idiot. It's been so long since i've read one, 'Kazama Uzumaki Naruto', 'Brown Eyes meet Blue' and 'But he's Just a Ramen chef' being examples of the fics i like. It's been so long since i've read a good fic that doesn't take 10 years to update and isn't abandoned at 3 chapters and 10k words...

Adios.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: An encounter of the Akatsuki kind

Chapter 12: An encounter of the Akatsuki kind

"Be reasonable Tsunade-hime" pleaded a certain Gama Sannin. The group of Konoha shinobi had been in a local bar in Tanzaku city where they had finally caught up with the Slug Sannin Tsunade and her apprentice in the medical arts Shizune. Tsunade, despite her old age didn't look a day over twenty five and had long blonde hair tied into two pig tails with a very large rack – as Jiraiya often described it. Her apprentice Shizune was a woman of natural beauty with short black hair that fell neatly around her face and pale, porcelain like skin. She was also well known to hide her figure under a black kimono, much to Jiraiya's dismay – a man needed his research if he was to earn a living.

Jiraiya had been arguing with Tsunade about returning to Konoha to take up the position of Hokage for the better part of a few hours, however, the buxom woman was adamant in her stance about never setting foot in Konoha again.

"Being Hokage is just asking to bite the bullet" she would say "every one of them died for nothing at all, I'd rather take my chances with gambling money at a casino then gambling my life by taking that position" she explained. This comment already caused one Mitarashi Anko, who was immensely fond of the late Hokage to dislike the Sannin already. Genma and Kakashi couldn't have possibly cared less about the situation, the former merely sitting at a nearby table with a senbon needle in his mouth while sneaking peeks at Shizune while Kakashi was immersed in his newly obtained 'Icha Icha' special edition, signed by the author 'Jiraiya-sama' himself!

Anko, on the other hand, during all of this deliberation was brooding in private and anyone who tried to make a pass at her in the bar or even so much as tried to speak with her earned themselves either a knee to the groin or several kunai thrown at them from the resident temperamental beauty. The thoughts that were currently plaguing her mind were mainly regarding the conversation she had overheard the two senile old goats from the council and the words a certain 'S-class' criminal said to her. Uzumaki had known instantly her insecurities and had pointed them out so bluntly that she now wondered how she hadn't visibly winced when he did so, and when she asked herself that, she realized that it was because of her friends back in the village like Kurenai, Asuma and Morino Ibiki, the interrogation specialist. However, most of it was because of her undying loyalty to her Hokage, the Sandaime, who now laid dead, his soul taken as a price for an attack used against her former sensei – just another reason to hate the snake bastard. It was Sarutobi who listened to her when Orochimaru had used and abandoned her and it was him that gave her the chance to prove herself – and she believed she more then did just that by taking one suicidal mission after another and coming back successful – but it seems that no matter what she did, she would forever be mistrusted and scorned. Some hateful part of her wished that her former sensei had accidently summoned Manda over Koharu and Homura's homes and squished them to death – she was sure she wouldn't have missed them.

"You might as well go back because there is no way I'm going back to that village" she heard Tsunade yell back at Jiraiya, her face a deep scarlet as she was flushed with indignation "and even if I did return, it especially wouldn't be to put a large target on my back and get myself killed thank you very much" she finished, crossing her arms over her chest in a very child like manner and glared. Anko had had enough of this woman, who she had once idolized as a young kunoichi – who didn't? – for being a perfect example of what Kunoichi everywhere should strive for, now however, she could see how wrong she was.

"Ero-baka" Anko called, using her pet name for Jiraiya once she had realized what his secondary job was exactly – though she'd never let him know that she too read his works – to get his attention. She allowed herself a small smirk when she saw not only Jiraiya but Kakashi too bristle at the title "I'm going for a walk, it's obvious this 'has been' thinks the world revolves around her so I say if she wants to drink and gamble for the rest of her life, let her, it's not like she's the only one to have precious people close to them die" she said blandly as she walked out of the bar, one hand in her trench coat and the other holding a Dango stick as she nibbled on the greatest food known to mankind.

Tsunade, after the comment, was visibly seething and was quite angered, which was quite obvious if the broken table beneath her hands was anything to go by. Jiraiya mentally groaned at what the hot headed snake mistress had unintentionally done. Knowing her reputation and personality though, he was inclined to believe it was quite intentional and now he had to deal with a stubborn _and_ pissed off Tsunade.

"Just who does that bitch think she is?!" Tsunade seethed, glaring at the door Anko had just walked out of. Jiraiya just didn't have the balls to tell her what Anko said was pretty much right, mainly because he knew that if he did, he most definitely wouldn't have the 'balls' to do so again.

"That bitch, as you put it, is Mitarashi Anko and though I don't want to admit it for health reasons, she has a point Tsunade" seeing her getting ready to pound him he looked at her with his most serious and intense glare, halting her advance "sit DOWN Tsunade!" he shouted, and she did just that, looking at him with a puzzled glare, but a glare all the same "I've had enough of trying to talk to you as if you were a child – you aren't the only one to have suffered loss and tragedy in Konoha. It's time you understand that people have had it worse off than you and are still trying their best to protect the villagers so that others do not experience the pain that they went through!" he said, his voice raising slightly as he continued which got the attention of the two other male Jounin as well as other occupants of the bar who were casting them weird glances.

"How dare you" began Tsunade, her voice dripping with venom "How dare you speak to me like that, you have NO idea what it's like…" before she could continue, Jiraiya slammed his hands into the table causing even the Slug Sannin to start in shock – Jiraiya was not one to anger easily.

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"I have no idea?" he began, his eyes narrowed "Need I remind you Tsunade-_hime_, you lost your brother and fiancé because they both died _protecting _the village, I lost my wife, my daughter because my enemies wanted to _hurt_ me! At least you had the pleasure of knowing your precious people died for a noble cause, but can I say the same?!" Jiraiya asked, letting his bottled up emotions come to the surface.

Tsunade had her head lowered in shame; of course she knew of Jiraiya's past, she was the one that had to inform him of their deaths. It didn't mean he had the right to speak to her like that though! Right? As much as she wanted it to be true, she could only turn her head and curse under her breath, because for all his character faults, Jiraiya was the stronger of the two to remain in Konoha and continue being of use while she, like some insolent little child, ran and tied to drown her pain in sake and gambling.

"I'm sorry…" Tsunade began and Jiraiya let out a non committal grunt letting her know it was ok "But I still don't want to become Hokage" she said, to a now listening group "You think I didn't keep tabs on the village while I was gone? I know what they have done in regards to the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki and now that they know he is strong, they make him out to be a criminal when they have no right to do – why would I want to lead a village of old and decrepit fools?" she asked and Jiraiya had to admit, she had a valid point.

"To change the ways of those 'old and decrepit' fools" he said, with a grin at the description of the elder council of Konoha "besides, not everyone in the village is like that, which is why I still hang around to protect it, so long as there are people in Konoha that a worthy of my protection I will put my life on the line to do so – you should do the same, being that you're one of the Sannin" he explained with a shrug before continuing "besides, I'd take the job if I wasn't needed to travel around to gather information for my spy network" he said getting a glare from Tsunade and Shizune.

"You mean your perverted book baka" Tsunade grumbled under her breath causing Jiraiya to grin "that too, besides, if I were to be forced to become Hokage because you couldn't I'd just have to legalize peeping on the hot springs, what WILL all those innocent girls do when all my faithful readers take up my favourite pastime?" he asked with a grin, dodging the stray sake glass thrown in his direction.

If Tsunade's glare could cause random objects to spontaneously combust, Jiraiya's privates would have exploded right there, however, seeing as she was no Uchiha or had no special bloodline, she just settled for a super punch that sent him crashing into the wall.

"Give me a week to think about it, now leave me alone" she grumbled, taking a seat beside her apprentice again who was grinning slightly while the three Konoha shinobi left the bar, Kakashi still absorbed in his book not having even said a word while Genma cast several more glances at Shizune, who blushed under his scrutiny and cast several looks back of her own.

"I wasn't expecting you so soon…Itachi-san"

Two figures, both wearing large black high collared capes that covered most of their bodies and straw hats that had pieces of material hanging down from the sides of them, covering their whole face when combined with the cloak, were standing not twenty feet from Naruto and Haku. The red clouds adorning the cloaks gave away that these people were members of the Akatsuki, the very organization that Sasori had trained him to resist and possibly destroy.

The shorter figure had no remarkable features from where Naruto was observing, save for the fact that he had a pair of glowing red eyes with three tomoe seals in each one shining from beneath his hat. The other figure, which towered over the shorter one, had a large sword like object wrapped in bandages fastened to his back and two beady eyes. Naruto knew instantly who these two were, Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame, two dangerous 'S-rank' criminals and he also had a vague idea what they wanted also, which was not good, he knew he should have destroyed it – they must have tracked him down using it somehow.

Naruto looked over to the larger figure and tilted his head in curiosity "If I had known we were having show and tell Itachi-san…" began Naruto sizing up Itachi's partner "I would have brought my pet fish also" this got an immediate reaction as he heard growling coming from Kisame followed by him grabbing the hilt of his large bandaged sword. Immediately, when Itachi moved to restrain Kisame, Naruto's fingers twitched, not that either of the missing-nin noticed.

Naruto heard a muffled snicker to his right signifying that Haku believed his joke was funny. He then realized with a start that Haku would have known Kisame from his past with Zabuza while hanging around with the seven swordsman of the mist.

"Oh? Zabuza's pet brat is still alive? So it's true that you're not dead – I heard rumours of course but I just figured that some useless orphans who killed his own parents would have had the decency to die when given the chance" Kisame said, with a shark like grin. Naruto wasn't one to usually let insults get to him but Haku was a different matter entirely, he never did get over his childhood like Naruto had so, thinking quickly, he found a way to calm down his partner.

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"Really Kisame-san, you are most definitely not one to talk about parentage when your mother procreated with some species of shark to get you and your beloved partner killing the better majority of his own clan – how did that work out by the way?" Naruto said, enjoying the fact that Kisame took such insults about his mother to heart so much if the increased growling was anything to go by, seriously, the man was too shark like for his own good. Haku seemed to have relaxed slightly after the jab also, and Naruto pat himself on the back for a job well done.

"They died because they were fools – as will you if you do not cooperate, powerful you may be, but you are no match for me Naruto-kun" Itachi said, without the slightest hint of arrogance, perhaps because he actually believed that rubbish, Naruto thought.

Seemingly ignoring him, Naruto pressed on "But your mother seemed so _nice_, I mean, why kill her at all?" Naruto asked, already having figured out the answers to his questions long ago.

"I did not kill my mother" Itachi responded with a slight edge to his voice. Ah, a touchy subject then, Naruto thought.

"Well, regardless, she's now dead and you had the power to stop it but didn't" Naruto said with a shrug "so much for the all powerful Uchiha Itachi"

"Some of us" began Itachi "had the pleasure of knowing what a mother's love feels like" he said, with as much passion as you'd ever hear from the Uchiha prodigy, which was very little, but it was still noticeable.

"Too true Itachi-san, I was never able to feel that, though it was not by choice…" Naruto said, sounding upset, making Itachi grin. Naruto was still a child and will always be a child, regardless of his strength "but then again, not all of us could have had the pleasure of loving your mother, and believe me, I would have _loved_ to love your mother" Naruto said, cocking his head to the side and taking on a mock thoughtful pose while enjoying how Itachi's body went rigid at the comment "I've seen her picture in several different records I have procured and I must say, you are definitely one lucky man Itachi-san to have had the honour of loving that woman" Naruto said, a hint of amusement lacing into his voice and by the small lump from within his cloak reaching down to his leg, most likely for a weapon, Naruto was certain he had hit a soft spot with him.

"What's the matter Itachi-san? Do you disagree? You did say that you had the pleasure of knowing what your mother's love felt like, surely you know what I speak of" that was it and Itachi suddenly, in a fit of what Naruto could only explain as emotionless rage, he tossed his hat to the side and with his right hand tossed three kunai while with his left, he followed up with four shuriken in Naruto's direction.

Taking that as a go ahead from his partner, Kisame too threw off his hat to reveal a blue shark like visage and a row of pointed razor like teeth before charging at Haku, his sword, Samehada resting on his shoulder as he did so. As Kisame charged at Haku he used his impressive strength to swing his blade down and hit Haku only for him to disperse into a water clone. Sensing where the water user had gone off to, Kisame immediately sped off in that direction, leaving Itachi and Naruto to have the clearing to themselves.

Naruto was made painfully aware about his one true weakness while fighting with Itachi and that was taijutsu, it seemed that the Uchiha prodigy knew that too if his relentless assault on his person was anything to go by, he rather hoped though that the assault was a product of his taunting though as an angry Uchiha Itachi is a stupid Uchiha Itachi which makes a Happy Namikaze Naruto. All Naruto could do to avoid being pummelled was pump chakra into his limbs to increase his speed and reflexes, though he knew that was also a double-edged sword against the Sharingan as the bloodline limit could see chakra and with him lacing his limbs with it, it allows the Sharingan's prediction abilities to have full effect. Using this to his advantage, he completely suppressed all chakra in the right side of his body while using his left to lead Itachi to an opening, and as expected, the Uchiha threw a hit in that very place. Taking the hit in stride, Naruto grabbed on to the offending leg and used the momentum catching it gave him to spin on his heal and aim a kick at Itachi's head. The results were not as he would have liked them though as the Uchiha prodigy merely caught his leg – it was for that very reason that Naruto was here in this very city, had he known the secret to Tsunade's legendary strength, he very much doubted the Uchiha could have caught his leg, let alone be in the same vicinity as it.

Both fighters, not wanting to remain caught as they now were, flipped away from each other to catch their breaths. That was all the time Naruto needed and with a twitch of both hands; two large fireballs came hurtling at Itachi from over both his left and right shoulder, giving him only two avenues of escape. Caught momentarily by surprise, Itachi took the exit that Naruto hoped he would in charging right at the puppet user and from the ground between Itachi and Naruto came one of his hunter-nin puppets with a sword raised ready to slice at Itachi – but the man was not heralded as a genius prodigy for nothing and Naruto observed with mild curiosity as Itachi's eyes morphed into a shuriken shape instead of the tomoe before his puppet burst in black flame. Ah, so that was the famed Amaterasu fire of the Uchiha clan, said to burn for seven days and seven nights and only usable by those with the Mangekyou Sharingan – however, impressive as it was, Naruto knew that it required a massive amount of Chakra to use, so, either Itachi was still underestimating him or he was angered enough to not consider that fact. With a grin, Naruto took the hit that Itachi gave him in the gut allowing him to burst into a cloud of smoke – he had created a 'Kage Bunshin' and switched places with it using Kawarimi.

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From his hiding spot, Naruto caught his breath as quietly as possible, not wanting to let the Uchiha know where he was. His resolve to now learn the secret behind the slug sannin's super strength growing all the more when he realized how outclassed he was in a Taijutsu match, which was just unacceptable.

Back in the clearing, Itachi cursed himself for being so foolish as to waste so much chakra by using his Amaterasu attack on a mere puppet and now, he suspected, he will pay for that mistake. The blonde Jinchuuriki was just able to, somehow, get under his skin with ease and he suspected he was not the only one to fall for such taunting. He had to give the boy credit though, he may not be a match for the Uchiha in taijutsu but his evasion skills and tactical planning were on par with the late Sasori, which was a compliment in itself seeing as Itachi respected the puppet master's genius, even though he would never admit it.

Suddenly, two blurs shot out from the trees surrounding him and two more figures dressed as hunter-nin began to attack him with a katana and two wakizashi respectively, it was then that he realized that Naruto had created human puppets by using the hunter-nin Konoha no doubt sent after him, that thought brought a small grin to his lips, it was quite amusing that the boy's enemy was giving him weapons to use in combat.

Performing several quick hand seals, he launched a Gokakyu no jutsu at one of the puppets while he defended against the other with two kunai, locking both Wakizashi at the hilt while he attempted to kick the puppet away, however, he didn't manage that before its mouth opened and shot several poisoned senbon in his direction, which he dodged by ducking low and swinging around with his left foot and raising his right to come around and kick which would have worked if the puppet he was sure he had destroyed hadn't come at him at ridiculous speeds and grazed his shoulder with its Katana.

Itachi cursed under his breath and got out of there with a well placed Kawarimi just before both puppets released a large cloud of poison right in the area Itachi was just crouched in. Naruto, from his hidden spot in the trees above the fight grinned slightly; this fight just got a hell of a lot easier. By simply sending one of his puppets in accompanied with a shadow clone that was transformed to look like his other one, he was able to trick Itachi into wasting more chakra to destroy the clone while he engaged with the other – it was then that Naruto waited for the perfect time to strike with his hidden and still in tact puppet. This was the reason clever Kugutsu users were so dangerous, they rarely needed to expend much chakra and all they need to do is graze you with one of their weapons for their poisons to take effect, and as of right now, Itachi has a debilitating poison coursing through his veins that will quickly cause his movements to become slow and difficult. This fight just turned in his favour.

Haku was not fairing so well in his fight against Kisame – the man's sword could absorb chakra and cut through a lot of his Ninjutsu like they were nothing. The only type of Ninjutsu he knew other then his Hyouton were his Suiton and the Futon jutsu he learned from Naruto and given how the large shark man was relentlessly charging at him not giving him time to perform seals, he didn't think he would be able to hold out for much longer.

"You see that brat" Kisame commented with a shark like grin "You can't stand up to someone as powerful as me" he said, while dodging some of Haku's senbon that came hurtling at him at almost untraceable speeds "You may know about Samehada's abilities because of your little friend Zabuza, but even he was never good enough to take me on, what makes you think that you could possibly be good enough" he taunted while making hand seals to perform his next jutsu.

"Suiton: Bakusui Shouha"

From Kisame's mouth came torrents and torrents of water that formed a humongous wave that moved at ridiculously high speeds towards Haku, ready to devour him whole if he didn't get out of there. Haku knew of this jutsu and would like to know it someday, but he wondered why Kisame would use it, surely he would know that it would give him the advantage? Perhaps he didn't know the extent to which Haku could control his bloodline – regardless, it wasn't a mistake Haku was going to allow Kisame not to regret.

As the wave of water came crashing down on him, he used his bloodline to manipulate the water in the wave to leave a small opening for Haku to pass through to avoid the harmful part of the wave before he appeared behind the wave unscathed. He then turned around to watch as the wave crashed against the cliff they were near and join with the river close by to flood the area and make it a proverbial lake.

Now standing atop of the lake, Haku regarded his opponent with caution. To be able to create a lake of this size with no previous water source was downright scary – this guy probably had more chakra then Naruto did, which was not a pleasant thought at all.

"Finally realizing how outclassed you are gaki?" taunted Kisame, much to Haku's delight, the more he spoke, the more time Haku had to think of a plan. There was no way he could use his bloodline abilities, the man already knew how they worked and how to counter them. Any projectiles he throws are simply blocked by the big sword he can swing around like it weighs nothing and using Suiton jutsu was pointless when your opponent was better versed in them, even if you can use them better. He could only think of one thing he could use to aid him in this fight and it is one of the main things he had learned after joining with Naruto – he just hoped that Kisame was still underestimating him.

"You think that this time I gave you will be enough to think of a plan to beat me?" he asked with a shark like grin before flicking the bandages on his sword off and letting them fall to the ground revealing the true form of ­

Samehada's blade which was very much like shark skin with the scales protruding sharply giving it the ability to shave the user's opponent. Without further warning, Kisame charged at Haku and brought his sword up to swipe horizontally only to have Haku dodge. Kisame then followed up his swipe with a knee strike in the area Haku dodged in while Haku barrel rolled to the side to avoid the strike, still using his chakra to remain balanced atop the water.

Using speed that was surprising for the large man, he disappeared in a blur only to appear behind Haku and perform a vertical slam with his sword. As soon as he dodged, Haku pumped Chakra into all of his limbs while charging lightning type chakra in his hands and appearing behind Kisame using Shunshin. Once Haku appeared behind Kisame, he jabbed the shark man behind his neck, attacking his nerves and finally, giving him the advantage he needed to win the fight.

Haku wasn't surprised when Kisame tried to swing his Samehada behind him in hopes of striking Haku down only to move his right leg instead in an awkward fashion and losing balance.

"What the hell…" began Kisame only to be cut off when Haku performed more hand seals and activated another of his new techniques – the chakra scalpels. Kisame's eyes widened, knowing how dangerous the technique could be if the user got in close, so he began to jump away only accidently drop his sword when he attempted to do so, unintentionally trying to use his hands to jump when he should be using his legs. Kisame didn't have time to get used to this new condition before Haku was on him again quicker then ever before – Kisame wasn't an 'S-rank' shinobi for nothing though and he was still dodging most of the attacks while getting used to how his body was now functioning but in the process of doing so, Haku had scored two clean hits on the shark man, severing the tendons in both of the shark man's arms.

Haku leapt back as the water they were standing on finished draining away to regard his opponent "Kisame-san" he began "I have rendered your limbs useless, please leave before I am forced to kill you."

Usually such a statement would cause the shark man to let out a bellow of laughter but he really wasn't in a position to be doing so now that the brat had pretty much rendered his limbs useless. With one final curse, he grabbed Samehada in his mouth and used Shunshin to disappear from Haku's sight and head to the meeting point he had agreed upon with Itachi should they fail in their mission.

Haku let out a sigh of relief; he didn't have much chakra left and didn't know how long he could have kept fighting for if Kisame had remained. Shaking his head slightly with the promises to gain more strength so he wouldn't be caught flat footed like that again, he headed in the direction he left Naruto at fighting the Uchiha, hoping that his partner was ok.

Mitarashi Anko was still in a shitty mood after having ditched the old hag of a Sannin with the rest of her team mates back in that bar about an hour ago. Honestly, couldn't a kunoichi get a nice serving of Dango and eat it in peace without having some crazy old lady ruin it by merely opening her stupid mouth.

With a sigh, she continued to walk around the city and taking in the sights. From the way Jiraiya was talking to her, it would take more then a few hours to convince her to become Hokage – not that she cared either way. She had lost any respect for the village the second she heard those old windbags talk about her like she was worthless, even after all that she had done for them. Her, Mitarashi Anko, the one who would volunteer to do missions that others wouldn't dream of doing due to their shitty survival rates and the one to succeed completing said missions over and over again.

Suddenly, she stopped walking mid stride when she felt a pulse of chakra, it wasn't large but it sure as hell was familiar and immediately her thoughts went to thinking about what the hell he was doing here and why she was so unlucky to literally keep running into the bastard.

Not able to contain her curiosity, Anko headed off quickly in the direction she felt the chakra spike from, positive her team mates wouldn't follow as they wouldn't recognize his chakra like she did. Anko had the ability to be able to recognize chakra signatures after minimal exposure; it was something one picked up after doing as many missions as she had and getting as much experience as she had. Uzumaki's was refined and always controlled, which was why it was hard to track because hardly any of it is leaked out to be tracked in the first place.

Arriving at a clearing, she saw something that made her eyes go wide with shock – the first time she met the boy, he had fought against Orochimaru and handed him a most embarrassing defeat, this time, he was fighting against Uchiha Itachi, the most dangerous missing-nin from Konoha and the person who single handily slaughtered his clan, a clan of powerful shinobi in their own right, in one night.

Concealing her presence as best she can, she continued to watch the fight from the shadows, having just witnessed the Uchiha get snagged by one of his puppets.

Itachi looked at Naruto, not showing any expression on his face but panting heavily. Naruto too was slightly winded but he hid it well. Naruto was nowhere near as tired as Itachi, but he was still outclassed and he didn't intend on continuing this fight longer then it was necessary, especially when shinobi nearby could sense his presence and come ­

to investigate what was going on – very much like Mitarashi-san had decided to do, if the smell of snakes was anything to go by. If it were Orochimaru, the fool would probably be cocky enough to try and confront the both of them and he'd probably hide his presence better.

"Itachi-san, you have been infected with a poison that will slowly hinder your movements until you are practically paralysed" he explained to the panting Uchiha "unless you wish to die and have your eyes sent in a gift package to your little brother, I suggest you escape with your partner who has also decided that a temporary retreat was the best strategy".

Finally getting his breath back, Itachi stood at his full height, noticing the extra strain on his body while performing such a simple task – Naruto wasn't lying "It seems I have underestimated you Naruto-kun" conceded Itachi "know that next time that will not be the case and next time, we will be after more then just the ring" he finished before disappearing in a swirl of black fire.

"Tch" scoffed Naruto, having heard that same threat many times before only to have his enemies die by his hand. He knew very well though that underestimating Uchiha Itachi and the Akatsuki would be very foolish and if there was one thing Naruto could say Sasori repeatedly beat into his head it was to not act foolish or get cocky. There would always be someone out there that is stronger then he is and he should never stop preparing himself for that very person less he wish to die.

"Anko-san" Naruto called out to the field, shocking a certain Jounin "you can come out now, my visitor is long gone already"

Just then, Mitarashi Anko strutted out from her hiding spot behind the tree seemingly without a care in the world but any trained shinobi could tell she was on guard. Haku too, chose that time to arrive on the scene, causing Naruto to nod in his direction, the closest he would ever come to actually letting out a sigh of relief.

"So" began Anko, eyeing Naruto curiously "is this how we're going to meet every time we see each other? You fighting 'S-class' shinobi?" Anko asked with a grin "It's almost like you're trying to impress me Uzumaki-san" she said, now with a sultry smile on her face which didn't affect Naruto in the slightest – if there was one advantage to stealing the late Hokage's stash of porn novels, it was most definitely desensitizing himself towards such actions.

"Namikaze" Naruto corrected her, much to Anko's confusion.

"Come again?"

"My name is Namikaze Naruto, not Uzumaki Naruto" he repeated, making sure she understood "I would appreciate it if you never referred to me as that again" he said, deadly serious.

Slightly caught off guard by the serious tone of his voice and thinking where she had heard that name before she nodded her head in a dismissive manner. She also inwardly cursed at how easily he threw off her advance like she was nothing – nobody was able to do that, maybe he was just gay? I mean, his company seemed to be a fruit so him being one wasn't that much of a stretch.

"So, what are you doing around these parts anyways?" asked Anko "Technically, I'm supposed to kill you on sight but I have better things to do to waste my time" she also didn't want to die, which she thought was inappropriate to say right now give that it was probably a compliment in some way "I also couldn't help but notice that the clothing worn by your two puppets seemed oddly familiar" she said, pointing to the two hunter-nin puppets flanking Naruto and Haku wearing the Konoha hunter-nin uniform.

With a shrug Naruto took out a scroll and sealed his puppets away again "Apparently some fool from your village's council thought to assassinate me with the use of hunter-nin, those two you just saw were two of the four of one of the teams that tried" he said with a shrug "I figured it was appropriate that I used them as my tools given that they forced me to kill them in the first place" he said to a shocked Anko.

"Wait…those two used to be…_PEOPLE_?!" screeched Anko in a shocked tone, memories of her old sensei rising from the depths of her mind and how he used to use shinobi in similar ways.

"Mostly" he conceded "I remove the entrails, blood and skin, and leave only a few pieces of the body left inside before 'rebuilding' it with numerous mechanisms and what not" he explained dismissively "that way the puppets have their own chakra system and can use any techniques they had known in life" he said, sounding almost excited at the prospect of talking about his puppets.

Nodding slowly while Haku stood in silence not too far off, still slightly queasy after he remembered the process of making said puppets. Anko could see the benefits, she still didn't like the fact that they could have been someone she liked or at least known. Somehow knowing what was going on in her mind, Naruto elaborated "Not that it matters, but I do not kill innocents Anko-san" explained Naruto "I especially do not turn innocents into puppets. Three of the four from the team that tried to kill me and…_expressed_ their dislike of my person met their end and became my tools. The ­

fourth, one Inuzuka Hana, was released back to Konoha to deliver a message to this 'Danzo' character that should I encounter another team of hunter-nin, I will kill him myself" he said before pausing for a few seconds, seemingly in thought "I would have made him a tool for my use also but the old cripple would be quite useless…"

Anko looked on in shock, Hana was definitely one of the people in the village she would classify as a friend and she just found out that she was lucky enough to escape the fate of becoming a puppet. She was interrupted from her thoughts when the older boy snorted in amusement.

"You don't have to lie" said Haku "you killed one of them because of what he said about your _precious_ Pocky"

Naruto paused for a moment before nodding "I admit that may have been the case" he conceded, much to Anko's shock and somewhat amusement "he should know better then to do something as sacrilegious as that" he said with a shrug "he paid the ultimate price" Anko found it hard to contain her amusement seeing as how she probably would have done something similar to anyone that insulted her precious Dango, which then reminded her of how this little punk thought Pocky to be better then Dango – kids these days were crazy.

"Why are you telling me all of this?" asked Anko, not that she didn't appreciate it, for it was surely interesting, but she was somewhat suspicious of his motives. Did he intend on killing her to keep the information he let slip secret? She very much doubted she could take him, especially with his partner, but she'd be dammed if she didn't go down without a fight.

"I'm telling you this" began Naruto "because I know you are becoming disillusioned with Konoha and wouldn't tell anyone what I told you anyway" said Naruto, much to Anko's shock.

"Do not look so surprised Anko-san" he began "I told you what I told you during my visit to Konoha for a reason, one for my own amusement to see if my words could have any sort of affect on your psyche" he said, holding up a finger at the enraged Anko at having her feelings toyed with for someone's amusement "two was because I think you have the potential to be a fine shinobi and you are wasting it tying yourself down to some pathetic village, especially one as pathetic as Konoha" he said, holding up a second finger and shocking Anko even more – did he just compliment her on her skills? – "and lastly" he began, holding up a third finger "oh…never mind, I already said that it was for my amusement, my mistake" he admitted, causing Anko and Haku to face vault directly into the ground.

Recovering after her visit with Terra Firma, Anko dusted herself off before looking at Naruto with irritation "You never said why you were _here_ though" said Anko "being in the same location that the Snake, Slug and Toad Sannin would be in is a bit much to be considered a coincidence" she said, looking at him with interest.

"You presume correct Anko-san" replied Naruto "I am here for many reasons" he conceded "the main of which consists of discovering the secret behind Tsunade-hime's legendary strength and incorporating the technique into my own fighting style" he admitted, surprising Anko and Haku, who had not known that "another reason I am here is to kill Orochimaru when he shows himself" he conceded getting understanding nods from Haku and Anko, I mean, who wouldn't want to kill him? "and finally because I am very much out of Pocky and I must restock" he said, with a small smile causing, once again, Haku and Anko to face vault.

Once Anko recovered, she looked at Naruto as if sizing him up for something before beginning "You know, the 'secret' behind Tsunade-sama's legendary strength isn't much of a secret to those who have had contact with any of the Sannin" she said, coyly, a plan formulating in her mind "I _could_…impart said knowledge onto you…for a price" she said, sauntering over to Naruto's position making Haku blush slightly at her provocative movements and Naruto raise an eyebrow in amusement.

"And what price is that Anko-san?" asked a clearly amused Naruto, which annoyed Anko slightly, this kid _must_ be gay, no one could resist her charms like this!

"Hmm…" began Anko tapping her chin with her index finger and going into a contemplative stance "I suppose I could tell you if you showed me how to use that Doku Bunshin of yours" she said, her grin could have possibly split her face if such a grin was not so common on her beautiful features.

Naruto eyed her casually, knowing he didn't care much if the girl knew that technique – it's not like it was extremely hard to learn, it was more the fact that people lacked the imagination or the drive to invent new techniques, preferring to acquire them off others; though he really couldn't say much given that he wanted to learn the secret behind Tsunade's legendary strength just as much.

"I have a counter proposition for you" began Naruto, making Anko frown, one jutsu for one jutsu was fair enough of a trade, he was just pushing it now "you seem to underestimate the complexities behind the Doku Bunshin and its mechanics if you merely think it is classified as one technique" he said, pulling out a scroll from his pouch and unsealing another scroll from within it "for the Doku Bunshin can be classified as many techniques as the number of poisons you know how to create with chakra" he explained, holding out the scroll for her to see.

"For the knowledge of how to use my first original technique, I would like to know the secret behind Tsunade-hime's legendary strength _and_ any information you can give me on Orochimaru's Ten no Juin" he said, smirking internally at ­

the shock on her face "I know how it works, what I need to know is how it effects the user along with any information regarding its creation – for I already know _how_ it works" he explained to an infuriated Anko.

"Why should I tell you that so I can have it come to bite me back in the ass later when you start making your own army of mindless drones using it?!" she all but yelled, making Naruto smirk.

"As much as the idea of something 'biting your ass' seems appealing" began Naruto, causing only Haku this time to face vault and Anko to glare murderously "I pride myself on being a Fuuinjutsu specialist and to be considered as such means that I like to know as much about seals as possible, which I do not given that I need to know what I ask of you" explained Naruto "If I really wanted to use it, I already could, all I need to do is procure the source of the original and I can begin administering as many as I wanted – given that I haven't done so yet, you can rest assured knowing that I won't use the knowledge to further any of my nefarious schemes" he concluded with a small grin of amusement at his own sarcasm.

Anko seemed to consider his offer for a while before nodding "give me the scroll first" she ordered, making Naruto snort.

"The knowledge in this scroll is known by no one else and I don't even know if your information will be of use to me" he countered "Tell me the secret behind Tsunade-hime's strength and if I deem it worthy, I will hand over the scroll regarding the information about my technique which you can then follow up with telling me about the Ten no Juin; agreed?" counter offered Naruto.

Eyeing him with distrust, Anko just nodded before pulling back her hand and taking a lecturing tone before continuing "The secret behind Tsunade-sama's strength is rather simple in theory, it is the practical application of said knowledge that some find to be most difficult because their useless asses don't have enough chakra control to perform it" she said, finishing her little introduction in a crude manner making Haku snort and Naruto grin.

"All one must do is concentrate as much chakra as possible at the Tenketsu of the limb you intend to strike with and build it up in that single Tenketsu before releasing it all upon impact, which then creates a huge impact and thus, Tsunade-sama's legendary strength is formed, though I doubt your dumb ass self could manage it" she said with a grin, hoping to anger him, little did she know that he was the sole master of that game.

Naruto frowned before nodding "That is rather simple yet brilliant, I feel somewhat ashamed that I didn't see it sooner" he admitted as he walked over to the tree. Once he stood before the tree he held out his hand and looked at his index finger intently as if concentrating on it and after a good ten seconds of doing so he simply tapped the tree with his finger. If what the two observers expected was for nothing to happen, they were definitely shocked at what actually did come to pass.

The three, of what used to be the tree, had split quite easily in the middle causing it to become nothing but splinters instantly as Naruto struck it with his finger. Naruto had to fight back a huge grin at the result of his actions; that was just awesome!

Haku looked on in shock at his partner's action. If at one point Haku would have said that Naruto's weakness was Taijutsu, which would definitely not be the case when he mastered using that technique in combat – he would have to work on the speed in which he could store the chakra in his Tenketsu though. He was slightly put off though by the fact that he probably didn't have enough chakra to use such a technique efficiently in combat, though, he was perfectly content with using his chakra scalpels while fighting.

Anko had to fight hard to keep her jaw from hitting the ground at the display. Sure, he hadn't mastered it yet needing to get to the point where he could gather chakra in any limb instantly and being able to release it on impact not to mention being able to do that all instinctively in combat, but he had just mastered the hardest part after ONE GODAMN TRY!

"I thank you Anko-san, your information was most useful" he said before tossing Anko the scroll he had held in his left hand. Immediately, Anko greedily opened the scroll to see the most complicated notes she had ever seen.

"What the hell is this?!" she all but screeched, having no idea what most of these 'big words' she found in the scroll meant. Naruto on the other hand had to hold back at a snicker at her reaction.

"Those are my notes on my technique Anko-san" he said, sounding amused "Surely you didn't believe a combination of Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and Dokugiri no Jutsu would be so simple?" he asked with amusement "They are two 'A-class' techniques and by combining them, I believe the control and chakra necessary would make the technique labelled at least an 'A-rank' on its own, if not 'S-rank'" he admitted, causing Anko to grunt showing her annoyance.

"So" began Naruto "How exactly does the Curse Seal affect its host?" asked Naruto causing Anko's eyes to darken before she responded "It feeds off of your deepest and darkest desires" she said softly, her eyes glazed over as if she were remembering something a long time ago "it not only feeds off of them but it feeds them in return, giving you promises of power constantly and whispering sweet nothings into your mind, suggestions, cruel ones, come constantly as if you had another voice inside your mind" she said, causing Naruto to frown but listen regardless "it gets so bad ­

sometimes that you almost want to do what the voice says in the hopes that it will just stop, but in some cases, if used on those who genuinely lust for power, it will cause them to act on those impulses more so then they would have without it" she said, while placing a hand over her own seal "not to mention the fact that _Orochimaru_" she hissed the name out like it was a disease "can physically harm or kill you through it if he is close by…" she said before trailing off as her eyes grew wide.

"Hmm" began Naruto "you seem to have realized the reason why your superiors sent you on this mission" said Naruto with no amusement in his voice, not wanting to insult the woman in this state "makes one wonder if they are in cohorts with Orochimaru himself" Naruto theorized quite correctly in Haku's opinion who still chose to remain silent.

Anko herself seemed to be trying to control her rage and Naruto could see that it would be a problem if she unconsciously tapped into the curse seal's power. So, decided on what his best coerce of action would be to stop her train of thought, he did the one thing that would divert her anger.

He grabbed her left tit.

Haku, who had barely seen Naruto's hand move, started inching away from his friend. He knew the reasons behind why he chose to do what he did after seeing Anko's reaction to the news about her superiors, but he doubted the woman would listen to reason before killing him that is.

Anko froze when she felt someone grab her tit and looked at the perpetrator to find an indifferent Naruto without his hat on still and his robe opened to show his face holding her breast with one hand while he casually read a book she despise from the other, 'Icha Icha Paradise'.

Anko felt her eyebrow twitch in annoyance at his behaviour and her mood didn't change one bit when he casually let go of her breast to turn the page before replacing his hand where it just was a moment ago, but not before giving her tit a nice squeeze.

"Hmm, just like Hitomi's…" she heard him mutter under his breath, the action caused her face to flush in fury which Naruto seemed to be oblivious to. Haku by now was hiding behind the tree wanting to avoid the explosion that was sure to happen while Anko's hand went to her kunai pouch, thoughts of castrating certain blondes, good looking blondes if she was honest with herself, but castrating them nonetheless.

Naruto peered out from behind his book to see the angry Anko glaring at him and to her confusion, he nodded in satisfaction and pocketed his book, his hand didn't leave yet though until one final squeeze which Anko had to fight real hard not to moan from. Naruto looked Anko in the eye and Anko had to hold back a scared reaction at the sight of his red slitted orbs before she finally exploded and began attacking Naruto with all the pent up anger, hurt, fury, agitation and sadness that she kept bottled up.

She began by using her Sen'eijashu technique to release several snakes from her sleeves and bite Naruto in many places all over his body, some of which no man wanted to be bit, ever. She then followed that up by throwing as many of her kunai as possible at his withering form which was still recovering from being bitten in the privates. She took a sick joy in seeing him being punctured like a pin cushion by her attacks, but she didn't stop there. She then followed that attack up with several kicks in places Naruto would rather not mention as well as kicks to his face, ribs and back and Anko finally finished with an overpowered 'Ryuka no Jutsu' at his corpse. Satisfied with her workout and stress relieving exercises, she began to walk off only to feel a presence behind her as she felt the tell tale signs of Genjutsu being dispelled from her. She honestly should have known better then to think that she could kill him so easily but she just didn't care at the time and her anger probably clouded her ability to sense being placed under a Genjutsu. She then frowned remembering what Naruto had told her in the forest of death in a patronizing way about controlling her emotions.

"I trust you got everything out of your system" Naruto asked in a bland voice. When he received a fake grin and a nod in response Anko was shocked to find herself slammed up against the tree with Naruto holding her by the scruff of her trench coat, any ideas of escape completely leaving her mind when facing the glaring red slitted eyes of Namikaze Naruto and the unreal killer intent spilling off of him.

"Good, because you will learn to control your emotion in the future and if you should ever succumb to the curse seal's influence, subconsciously or not, I will kill you myself" he said in a deadly tone before leaving the clearing using Shunshin no Jutsu, his tracks covered by a gust of wind leaving a shaken Anko still leaning against the tree scared out of her mind – and it wasn't easily that Mitarashi Anko got scared.

Anko then spotted Naruto's partner come out of the bushes and walking up to her as he healed the bruise that was forming on her chest. Confused by his actions, she was about to ask the masked shinobi what he was doing before his voice cut her off.

"I'm sorry for Naruto-kun's behaviour" began Haku "but you must understand that he sees a lot of himself in you, or rather, his situation in you when he was once living in Konoha" he explained and seeing Anko's confusion he elaborated "Naruto was found on the outskirts of Konoha by his late sensei beaten to near death and tied upside down from a tree branch when he was at most six years old…he was treated the same way, if not worse, then you are now ­

in Konoha and seeing you almost succumb to something like the curse seal made him upset, almost like doing so is an insult to himself" explained Haku before he removed his mask and smiled at the woman after he finished healing you.

"When you told you why he was telling you about our motives and didn't mention the third one, it wasn't because he was trying to be funny" Haku explained "he just didn't want to tell you that he respected someone of your strength to be able to stand up to the village's prejudices for so long the way you have without snapping where he could not, which is also why I think he got angry when you almost succumbed to the Curse Seal's influence, he didn't want you to give in and you almost did" he said before beginning to walk off.

"Think about what I said" said Haku before he too disappeared using in a puddle of water in the ground that mysteriously disappeared after Haku was gone leaving a thoroughly shaken up and contemplative Anko behind in the clearing.

Author's Note: 

Sorry for the wait on the update, I had a ridiculous virus affect my computer that literally deleted all important system and .exe files that made it pretty much useless so as well as losing all my other writings…and homework – not sure which I was more devastated with to be honest – I bought a new hard drive and reinstalled all the important things I needed from scratch… like World of Warcraft which pretty much took up my entire day given that I had to get all the patches and all my mods again…

In other news… anyone that wants to use anything from my story is more then welcome because saying I own anything I write is plagiarism in my book anyway, sure the ideas regarding the information might be original but the bulk of it is taken from Naruto anyway. It would be nice to have my ideas credited but I really don't care, knock yourselves out.

I must also admit that I enjoy reading what people think will happen, especially when they act like they're so sure. I don't want to say that it makes me all smug and what not but that would be a lie. I wont' be telling anyone anything about the future of my story, you'll just have to read and find out – it will make for a better read, I promise.

To those people who asked what fic had Naruto and Nanao-chan paired up that I was reading, it's on my list of favourites in my profile and I think it was called 'tangled in death'. It's good, you should check it out.

Also, I had somewhat of a hard time writing the fight scenes between team Naruto and Akatsuki members especially since I didn't want to make them able to beat them too easily. I hope how I wrote it conveyed the point that they were underestimated which is why they 'won', not because they were better. If Itachi went all out Taijutsu on Naruto and not wasted chakra on using Ninjutsu or Amaterasu, he would have owned his ass eventually. Also, if Kisame just assaulted Haku with his sword and not given him time to devise a plan, he would have shredded his ass to bits.

On another note, the 'joke' about Itachi's mum, Mitoko, I _so_ got from my own thoughts. The woman is gorgeous and in my opinion the best looking female character in the Naruto universe. I also think some of the hottest anime characters besides her are Shizune, Motoko Aoyama, Tsuruko Aoyama, Nanao-chan, Kurotsuchi Nemu and Kikyo from Inuyasha. I believe a pattern is able to be devised from that list of females about what I think about hot anime girls (though Winry from FMA and Yoruichi from Bleach are still up there in hotness imo, if not at the top).

That's all for now, review more peoples, I judge the 'leetness' of my fic by the number of reviews even though I probably shouldn't…

Next chapter should be up within the week if not sooner.

Adios.

Extra Author Note:

People, I showed something in this chapter that clearly shows WHY Naruto doesn't use his Kage puppets liberally, think...

Itachi: Hello Shodaime-sama puppet!

Shodaime puppet: Merr, i'm massif and i'm going to kill you with trees

Itachi: Amaterasu...PEACE PUPPET!

Yeah, he won't be using them liberally so please stop asking, it gets annoying.

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I also had someone review saying that grenades and flamethrowers are out of the naruto universe, well, no... Grenades are simply balls with explosive notes attached and flamethrowers are a mixture of gas and a small fire... if they can't create fire artificially in the Naruto universe, i would 'lol'. Not that they'd make much of an appearance on the Kage puppets, but Naruto will stock them in his temporary human puppets from here on out, as well as other contraptions I can think up.

Top of Form


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Tsunade's Answer

Chapter 13: Tsunade's Answer

Konohagakure no Sato, when there is no Hokage, is run by the elder council of the village which is made up from prominent civilians, business owners, retired shinobi, and noble clan heads. It was a group of these people that Inuzuka Hana was facing at this moment, ordered to relay the details of her mission and team mate's demise to the awaiting council. They did not know any of the details of the mission, success of failure, it was merely customary in this village that when a shinobi dies on a mission, their team mates are to report to the Hokage and give a detailed description as to why that happened. Seeing as there was no Hokage running the village at this moment, the council would have to suffice.

Hyuuga Hiashi, unanimously declared as the spokesperson for the council looked down upon Hana's bowing form with an impassive and cold stare, not really interesting either way as to the information she was about to give. Unlike the other clan heads, he was well aware of the mission she was sent on as a hunter-nin and unlike others, he was well aware of the fact that most, if not all, of the hunter-nin that went after Uzumaki Naruto wouldn't come back alive. He allowed a sliver of amusement to pass through his eyes at the lashing one Inuzuka Tsume, mother of Inuzuka Hana and fellow council member would give unto those that forced her to go on such a mission.

"Inuzuka Hana" began Hiashi, his voice echoing through the dark council chambers like thunder after so many minutes of silence had passed, even if he had spoken quietly and like someone of his station should "it has come to our attention that there were three casualties on your most recent mission. Would you care to relay to us the reasons of said casualties and how it came to be that you are still amongst the living while they, are not?" he asked, waiting patiently like every other person in that room save for the girl's mother, who it was obvious had been crying recently if the bloodshot eyes were anything to go by.

"Our mission Honourable Council" she began, her head still bowed "was to track down and eliminate the 'S-class' criminal Uzumaki Naruto and bring back his head" she stated, much to the shock of the council. Hiashi spared a quick glance at Tsume who seemed to be fuming, for what reason he could only guess, however, he decided to speak up before she blew a fuse.

"Who gave you such a mission Inuzuka-san?" asked Hiashi "Not to discredit your abilities, but they are labelled 'S-class' for a reason, a more experienced team should have been deployed" he stated, no outward signs of emotion but on the insides, he was having a field day. He was Hyuuga Hiashi, he had the all seeing eyes of the Byakugan, of course he knew who assigned the mission, and he loathed them as much as he loathed the Hyuuga elder council – they were all the same, believing they were untouchable and could play the 'master puppeteers' from behind the scenes without fear of repercussion. Well, that theory will definitely be tested right now.

"Our team leader, Minamoto Takahashi, informed us that the mission came directly from the council themselves" she said, after a pregnant pause. The resulting murmurs and hushed whispers going around the council chambers did not go unnoticed by Hiashi who smirked internally. The internal smirk almost threatened to break out on his face too when he saw Homura and Koharu begin to fidget in their seats, were it not for his years of practise looking impassive.

"Could you perhaps be more specific Inuzuka-san?" pressed Hiashi, looking down at Hana who now looked up in surprise at Hiashi before nodding slowly and responding.

"He mentioned something about the honourable elders of the council…" she spared a glance at the two members of the council that almost got her killed, not showing any emotion for the fact that any kind of action she took against them will be met with severe repercussions, luckily, her mother was there to defend her in this battle.

"YOU WHAT?!" she all but shrieked "YOU SENT MY DAUGHTER TO HUNT A CRIMINAL THAT WE HAVE AGREED TO BE AT _LEAST_ AN 'S-RANKED' SHINOBI?!" she yelled, showing everyone in the room the legendary Inuzuka temper at its finest. The woman had the two elders shrinking back in their chairs, sure, they were team mates of the third, had completed more missions then any other in that room, were more experienced then any other in that room and had faced much more dangerous opponents, but to face a mother's fury was not only stupid, it was suicidal, especially when said mother was an over protective Inuzuka clan head who was powerful in her own right.

"Uzumaki is a threat and needed to be neutralized if Konoha wanted to prosper" began Homura only for Koharu to pick up where he left off, not as easily intimidated as he partner was "if he decided to seek vengeance against the leaf for any actions caused to his person, he could unleash the Kyuubi and without someone as powerful as the Yondaime, we would not be as lucky as we were last time" she said with absolute conviction. Tsume, however, was not impressed.

"Any action he would want to take against the lead would be because of you fools who hated him to begin with for something he had no control over" she hissed out, however, she was not finished yet "and that still doesn't explain the reason behind sending shinobi that are clearly below his level in skill, let alone the stupidity behind your fears – if he wanted to cause us harm, he would have sided with Orochimaru during the invasion not long ago" she finished, speaking more like a snake that was coaxing its prey rather then a temperamental canine.

Deciding he had enough of this wonderful show, Hiashi attempted to continue on with the inquiry they were here for in the first place and not some pointless squabble "What happened on your mission Inuzuka-san?" asked Hiashi, successfully getting Hana's attention again and silencing the others in the room.

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Hana was silent for a moment before continuing "He seemed to have been expecting us" she began "which is a feat on its own considering out team, while not the most experienced combat wise, is one of the better in the division for tracking and espionage" she explained to the pensive council "we then engaged him but he quickly subdued us by using a strange clone technique that once dispelled expelled a cloud of anaesthetic poison and some other paralysing techniques" she explained, confusing the council as to why he used non-lethal force "He…" began Hana, seemingly having difficulty "told us to tell him who sent us…" she said, looking at the elders again "after he placed Minamoto-san under a Genjutsu, torturing him for over ten minutes, he divulged that Danzo-sama along with two elders of the council had sent us to kill him" Hana said, much to the shock of the council, Danzo had absolutely no authority to make such an order, especially after his special ANBU division was disbanded.

Hiashi looked over to Danzo, who was standing in a darkened corner of the room ever silent and hiding his presence as usual, with his Byakugan bulging – how dare he try and give orders to the shinobi of this village through Koharu and Homura.

"He then killed Minamoto, Jun'ichi and Takumi and said something about turning them into puppets" she said, causing some of the weak stomached civilian members of the council to feel like emptying their stomachs at the mental image that provided "however, he said he would spare me because I didn't engage him directly or show any signs of anger or hate towards him…he also said he wanted me to inform Danzo-sama, Homura-sama and Koharu-sama that should another team attack him on their orders that…" she paused looking around the room nervously as if not wanting to continue, however, at her mother's encouraging nod, she did so "that he would come and kill them himself."

That statement caused an uproar in the council, mainly from Koharu and Homura themselves, and in doing so, they completely missed Danzo smirking to himself in the corner of the room, though Hiashi did not.

"How dare he!" yelled Homura, his face flushed with fury.

"Who does he think he is?" hissed Koharu, her ever narrow eyes somehow becoming even narrower then before in anger.

Ah, this was what Hiashi woke up this morning for. To see the confident smirk on Danzo's face dim ever so slightly, to see Homura sweat like the pathetic old man he is and to see Koharu, the kunoichi widely known as one who was not easily intimidated, be exactly that. Everyone else in the council room, be it supporters of reigning in and/ or killing Uzumaki or those who thought they should leave well enough alone all seemed to be of one mind in thinking that, regardless of their actions, two elders and a respected ex-shinobi being threatened the way they were was not a good thing. If they were to heed his threat and it got out to their enemies, it would make the leaf seem weak and incompetent to allow a single criminal to boss them around, however, if they were to try and silence him, he may very well come through on his threat. Despite how much Hiashi was secretly enjoying himself, for the purpose of the leaf as a whole; he couldn't allow the Uzumaki to kill the three old fools.

"That's not all…" Hana began, getting everyone in the council room's attention who had once thought that she had finished with her report. At their expectant looks, she swallowed the lump in her throat and relayed the next bit of information that resulted in Danzo to get a calculative gleam in his eyes, Koharu to open her narrowed eyes wide in shock, Homura to almost faint in shock and Hiashi to allow his amusement to shine through his pearly white eyes.

"He said his name…was Namikaze Naruto"

There was chaos.

Haku happened upon Naruto training in a clearing not far out of Tanzaku city; trees were covering the clearing all on the floor or smashed into splinters paired with crumbled pieces of rock that he had hammered at so many times that they had broken into little pieces. Ever since he learned of the theory behind Tsunade-sama's legendary super strength, he has been training on being able to summon up massive amounts of chakra at the Tenketsu in different parts of his body, only to release it on impact to create a massive force that can be used to strike with.

Haku honestly thought that he had it down, being able to call the chakra to any limb in his body almost instantly but Naruto had assured him that he could do it faster and that he wouldn't stop until the action had become instinct, which is why he was now practising while standing on a lake.

Haku continued to watch Naruto train, mesmerized by the progress he was making so quickly. He himself had tried learning the technique, if only to pass the time and improve his chakra control, only to find that he was indeed able to gather the chakra in his hands that the technique required, but it took him much too long a time for it to matter or for it to be of use; there was also the fact that after one punch he would already be winded, something that just wouldn't do in a real battle.

Naruto on the other hand stood on the water, obviously aware of his presence, focused on his hand as he simply looked at it and gathered the chakra in his fist before he stored it there and released it on impact to get the desired results. Each time he performed the technique, Haku could tell he was getting better at it too. Naruto could already ­

instantly call forth the chakra in his hand and strike if he so wished it, but he had yet to be able to do it with the little concentration he wanted it to take to perform.

Eventually, Naruto had enough with training for the day and after picking up his cloak and hat, he walked over to where Haku was perched, reading through some medical scrolls, and sat down nearby. He took out a box of Orange flavoured pocky and began to munch on them in silence as he enjoyed the tranquillity the forest they were sitting in provided in the late afternoon.

"So" began Haku, after putting away his scroll "why is it we're here?" asking Haku, knowing that Naruto would know to what he was referring to.

"To hinder Orochimaru-san" answered Naruto as he tossed the end of the pocky stick in his mouth and munched on it while reaching for another stick.

"Are you sure it has nothing to do with that Anko woman from Konoha" asked Haku, not wanting to sound pushy or angry, for he was neither, just curious.

"I couldn't have known she would be here, I didn't even know Jiraiya-san would be here, regardless of my suspicions" answered Naruto "though her being here was a pleasant surprise" he admitted.

"Why is that?" asked Haku, still curious as to his friend's interests in the Snake woman.

"I'm not sure" Naruto answered truthfully "she just interests me" he said with a shrug. Haku frowned at his answer, thinking on it for a short while before speaking up again.

"You're not using her, are you?" he asked, and he decided to elaborate when he saw the confusion on Naruto's face "To run tests on the Ten no Juin and get information form Konoha?"

Naruto was silent for a while, eating another stick of Pocky before continuing "She has her uses and if I wanted to 'use' her so, I don't see how that is of any concern to you" Naruto said, with no anger or malice, just simply stating fact "you may rest assured though Haku-chan knowing that my nefarious schemes do not involve hurting Mitarashi-san in any way, be it physically or emotionally" he admitted, much to Haku's relief and slight annoyance at his persistence in referring to him as he would a girl. Haku was however very relieved to find out that Naruto, though completely indifferent to almost anything and everything around him was not a cold person – maybe just too smart for his own good at times.

"Why did you tell that Konoha shinobi your real name?" asked Haku "I would imagine that being a criminal, as you are now dubbed by many, anonymity would be a factor that you would take full advantage of" he stated, wanting to know his reasoning behind revealing his name to the Konoha hunter-nin.

With a shrug, Naruto answered, not seeing how it could hurt any for Haku to know if his enemies already did "I told her my name for reasons completely different to what you are thinking" answered Naruto, and seeing Haku's surprise, he elaborated "it was not some foolish beliefs of being untouchable enough to not need to keep my anonymity any longer, nor was it sheer arrogance that my name in the hands of enemies would matter little" he said, calming Haku down somewhat as he had indeed thought exactly those things "but rather, by giving our enemies my full name, I intend to use their efficiency and cunning against them and to my advantage" he answered.

"How do you mean?"

"What you need to know before I answer that is the real reason why I was in Konoha during the time of the Chunin exams" he began "sure, Orochimaru being there and the Chunin exams being on at the time where a welcome distraction, but the reason I was there was to discover what many orphaned children wish to know for most of their lives…" stated Naruto, and with that statement, he had obtained Haku's full attention. It was easy enough to see Naruto as the calculating, superior and extremely proficient shinobi, but Haku had honestly never seen Naruto as just another fourteen year old boy – he was far too mature and deadly to be seen as such, so any possibility of having some childhood desires was something that would gain his full attention, for it was something Haku was sure Naruto simply did not have "…I wished to know my origins and who my parents were" answered Naruto, getting an understanding nod from Haku, who could see how he would want to know that.

"To be honest, I was far from surprised when I found out who my father was, Namikaze Minato, legendary shinobi and Yondaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato" he said, and suddenly Haku remembered where he had heard the name Namikaze before and why Naruto's look seemed so familiar. The texts Naruto had obtained from Konoha often mentioned the blonde Hokage and always in a positive light. He was the hero of Konoha, their greatest Hokage, the sole reason why Konoha won the war against Iwagakure and Kumogakure, and the defeater of the almighty Kyuubi no Kitsune. There were often pictures of the man in various history texts and now that Haku thought of it, the resemblance between the two was uncanny – never had she seen anyone else with hair as golden as Naruto's, and Naruto did mention that before taking away the Kyuubi's senses as his own, his eyes were a cerulean blue, it was so obvious, but still, why did he reveal that? If anything, it just promised him more memories if Kumogakure and more importantly Iwagakure ever found out about his heritage.

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"I can see the question in your eyes, but I never said I was finished" said Naruto, shocking Haku out of his stupor "my father was indeed Namikaze Minato, but my mother, who is still alive today, was Uzumaki Kushina, former shinobi of the whirlpool country" this information caused Haku's eyes to widen in shock, mainly because Naruto still had a mother that apparently abandoned him, but also because he sounded so callous when saying it "she went into hiding shortly after the sealing of the Kyuubi…taking her daughter with her and obviously, leaving me in the village" Haku's eyes widened in horror when he started to piece together where Naruto was going with this.

"You…want to kill her?"

Hatake Kakashi let out a girlish giggle as he read that last paragraph of 'Icha Icha Paradise' that Jiraiya had signed and given to him as a gift. Yuki-chan and Mai-chan had just professed their undying love for their own cousin and offered themselves to him the only way they knew how, with lots and lots of sex right in the middle of a public hot spring. Three more immensely attractive females, turned on by the sight, joined in to form one massive orgy in the hot spring. Kakashi then flipped the page as he let out a few choice words – that lucky bastard, boy did he wish he was Shinji-san right about now.

Instead of participating in a mass orgy like Shinji, Kakashi had to spend his time lazing around and doing pretty much nothing as Jiraiya did his best to convince Tsunade to become the Hokage – with little success it would seem. The man was making good points that contained logic Tsunade just couldn't deny, yet, she was finding every possible reason under the sun to pretty much tell Jiraiya to take his offer and shove it up his ass.

Genma too had been just as bored as him it seemed, at least he had an awesome book to read – Genma on the other hand was stuck chewing on that senbon and eye fucking the _shit _out of Tsunade's admittedly extremely hot apprentice Shizune. That lucky bastard at least got eye fucked back, his book couldn't give him that 'magical' look that Kakashi attributed to a Doujutsu that anyone can activate when the right amount of lust enters one's system.

Kakashi then looked to his other Jounin team mate, or lack there of. Ever since some unknown incident a few days ago, Mitarashi Anko hadn't been seen much at all by the other three members of her team, which was noticed first by the legendary toad Sannin – 'Where's the eye candy?' he would oh so callously ask and when she decided to show up, she would look tired and worn out. The three attributed it to her training or releasing her pent up frustrations on an innocent tree…or person. Either way, Kakashi didn't much care either way, what Anko did was her own business – she made that clear to everyone on more then one occasion.

Why should he care? This mission was meant to be a pseudo holiday for him after having to put up with the broody Uchiha for a whole month by himself and he would take this holiday with gratitude, reading his book until Jiraiya-sama decided to release the next one. He hadn't felt so relaxed in a long while.

Now, if only he could get the feeling that something bad would be happening soon out of his system, perhaps he could really relax instead of pretending to be relaxed…oh well, thus is the life of a shinobi.

Mitarashi Anko cursed the blonde shinobi in her mind for the hundredth time that day. The technique scroll he gave her, though extremely thorough and descriptive, was far too complicated to understand and learn on her own. It's not that she wasn't smart or anything; to be picked to be the apprentice of a Sannin, especially one like Orochimaru who put a lot of value on genius shinobi, one had to be smart amongst other things; however, the Namikaze brat was on a whole other level, talking about 'stabilizing molecular particles' and 'regulating biophysical energies and substances through the technique to stabilize the flow of chakra and create a solid output of said energies'. Sure, she got the gist of it, but she had NO idea how it related to the technique in itself, but apparently it was important because she was still unable to create anything other then a Kage Bunshin with extra air inside of it that exploded outwards when it was destroyed.

He had told her that this jutsu was a mixture of Kage Bunshin and Dokugiri, so, she tried breaking down the two separate techniques – which she already knew – and combining them, however, she found that that didn't work either.

Anko resigned herself to having to ask for more help from the Namikaze brat, no matter how much she despised the idea. She could see it in her mind's eye, the condescending look he would give her when she admitted that she couldn't make sense of his notations and instructions, not to mention her failure at making any progress.

She was also slightly surprised that none of her team mates ever asked about her whereabouts during the days Jiraiya would try and get Tsunade to come back to Konoha – sure, she had received glances in here direction when she'd return to the local hotel they were staying at, but no comments or inquiries as to her whereabouts or the reasons behind her condition. Wouldn't they be surprised though if she told them the truth that she was technically 'mixing' with the 'enemy'. She couldn't really blame Genma though, if she was to be honest with herself, the baka and Tsunade's apprentice had been pretty much fucking the _shit_ out of each other with their eyes – she idly wondered if anyone else noticed…

Sighing, she gathered her large beige cloak and swung it over her shoulders before leaving the clearing she was currently occupying, intent on finding the source of her current frustrations and the solution to them – all thoughts about her 'beloved' home village out of her mind, for now.

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"You want to…kill her?" asked Haku with a growing sense of dread as flashbacks of his life as a young boy flashed before his eyes – his father killing his mother then trying to kill him, him defending himself against his crazed father, him succeeding in driving his father through with a lance of ice. He had to shake his head to clear the thoughts from his mind, thoughts that he forcefully suppressed, not wanting to relive those horrible times.

"Hardly" answered Naruto dryly, much to Haku's relief "I barely know the woman and I don't consider her my mother" said Naruto, shocking and confusing Haku again somewhat. She was obviously his mother, if what the stolen records he obtained were true, so what was he on about?

Seeing the question in his friend's eyes, he elaborated "As far as I'm concerned, both my parents died on the night of the Kyuubi attack – she's nothing to me, as she should be, because I don't know the woman. I can hardly be expected to refer to the woman as my mother if she has had no part in my upbringing and abandoned me in the first place" he said, in a way that made a chill run through Haku's spine, he seemed to not care at all about his mother.

"Then…why?..." he asked, confused, what the hell was this leading to? Sure, it was informative, but what the hell did it have to do with Haku's initial question about giving away his identity.

"I'm not interested in my mother's whereabouts" admitted Naruto "I am interested in the whereabouts of my twin sister, whom my mother took with her when she fled from Konoha" he said and suddenly things were starting to make sense and the truth was becoming clearer and clearer to Haku, which put his soul to rest somewhat – Naruto was searching for his long lost twin sibling. He once read that twins shared a special kind of bond like none ever seen or created through techniques, knowing where the emptiness he must have felt all of his life is coming from would indeed make him want to find his sister.

"You have no doubt discovered the 'why' behind my motives" said Naruto, leaning back against the tree and munching on a different flavoured pocky he pulled out after finishing the pack of Orange pocky; Vanilla "my methods to achieve my motives though must still confuse you, well, the answer to that is rather simple really" he said with a shrug "Searching for Uzumaki Kushina and in extent, my sister would be much to troublesome a task to undergo, especially when the only clue I have to her possible whereabouts is her place of birth" he said, before continuing "instead, I give my enemies information that could be used against me and when they think they can use it so, which I know they will as my enemies are all cunning, if nothing else, I will use their arrogance against them and let them lead me to her" he said, before smirking "they do have far greater resources after all and I have spies everywhere" he finished mysteriously.

Haku was speechless, his plan…it was utterly brilliant. At first he believed it to be a bit too much for the two of them alone to accomplish, but, with Naruto's plan, he could easily track her down by leeching resources off of the Konoha shinobi who would try to capture Naruto by using the false ideals that capturing his mother could be used as leverage against him – and even though Haku didn't know whether that was true or not, Naruto would definitely get to her before they did once they found a solid lead on her, for only she had the most information on his sister's whereabouts. He suddenly felt pity to anyone who would every try to go up against Naruto, the boy – yes, still a boy – was a genius the likes he had never seen and he was manipulative, cunning and powerful to boot; all traits that make a dangerous shinobi.

"I'm sure you have more questions" Naruto began as he pulled a scroll out of his pouch "but we have a visitor" he said as he tossed the scroll to Haku, who caught it "I want you to learn everything you can about the subject in that scroll and any methods to fix said situation in anyone I need you to – it's important" he said with seriousness that made Haku believe that it was indeed important.

As Naruto walked off, Haku let confusion pass through his feminine features as he read the topic of the medical scroll's contents before looking at the retreating form of Naruto, no doubt going to head off their 'visitor' who Haku assumed was none other then the snake woman if Naruto didn't react with hostility.

'_Why Tuberculosis?'_

Anko was just wandering aimlessly through the woods, hoping that the blonde would pick up on her scent and come to her – he definitely seemed to have heightened senses, especially if his eyes were anything to go by.

"So…you need something?" asked a voice from above her shocking Anko into a defensive stance after she threw several kunai in the direction of the voice. Looking where she threw the kunai, she was met with Namikaze Naruto standing on a branch casually tilting his head to the side to avoid the kunai while eyeing her with a bored expression. Some may think that blocking kunai is the more clever way of avoiding damage by them, but should you draw a weapon to block them, not only are you expending unnecessary force, but you are ruling out the possible use of one of your hands should you need them for Ninjutsu – it seemed that Naruto was an experienced shinobi in his own right.

"What the hell do you think you're doing gaki?" Anko asked while glaring at him "I could have hurt you or worse, sneaking up on a Jounin isn't a very smart idea" she said, with no real venom in her voice.

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"While your concern is touching" began Naruto, sounding anything but interested "I can take care of myself Anko-san, now, what was it that you wanted? You were obviously searching for me" said Naruto, as he allowed one of his eyes to quickly flick down towards her breasts, the ones he oh so casually fondled not that long ago that were out for all to see while being constrained in that tight fishnet top. Getting rid of those mental images, his eyes focused on her face again and luckily, due to his position in regards to her, she probably couldn't tell what he had just looked at – better that way in his opinion, no need to look like a lecher after all.

Slightly disturbed that he could sneak up on her, a Jounin, a damn good one at that, she eyes him warily for a few moments before frowning as she remembered the reason as to why she was here in the first place "Gaki, I'm here because your notes are too confusing to follow and I need help with the fundamentals of the technique you gave me" she confessed – there, she said it, now she was prepared for any condescending remark he was prepared to dish out to her.

"That's not surprising, I never expected you to be able to do it on your own" stated Naruto as Anko had to bite her tongue to stop any potential rebuttals "but it has nothing to do with your intelligence or lack of skill" clarified Naruto as he got into a lecturing position on the tree while Anko listened to him intently.

"The words used to describe the technique on the scroll are gibberish, designed to give people the very problems you are having with the technique, the problems that people overlook when learning all techniques" he said, causing a multitude of reactions from Anko – she felt even stupider now knowing that she tried to make sense of gibberish and angry at the same time for wasting her time doing so "what one must remember is that to efficiently use any Ninjutsu, you need to keep a clear and focused mind; the mind is a Shinobi's greatest weapon after all" he said, in a voice that sounded far beyond his years "what I'm guessing your problem was is that you were over complicating the technique in your own mind, and thus, the only person stopping you from performing it is yourself" he said with a shrug. Anko listened with a frown on her face, she, in all her years, even under admittedly one of the smartest shinobi of their time and had never heard of this explanation before, but she was not foolish enough to believe that she knew everything, so she listened.

"Chakra usage and manipulation has just as much to do about the mental capabilities of the user as it does with the Spiritual and Physical abilities of the user; Mind, Body, and Soul must be mastered if you are ever to utilize a technique to its full potential" he explained "therefore, one must have a clear and focused state of mind, a large amount of control over their spiritual energy and an even amount of stamina so that energy does not harm the body" he explained "what I believe you are lacking is the focused state of mind and though you can obviously achieve this…recent events…might have caused you frustrations that limited your potential in using Ninjutsu" he explained as Anko frowned in thought.

"I've seen frustrated shinobi perform Ninjutsu countless times, especially after they have been trying to master a certain technique after a while" she countered, wanting to make sure she had every point covered.

Naruto just shrugged before replying "Usually, those people you speak of 'force' the technique to work by overloading it with chakra which is not only dangerous, but foolish" he said "there are many low level techniques you could flood with chakra and they'll work simply because a good amount of control over your chakra is not necessary to perform them" he said "but the techniques I use and create, often need a high amount of control over one's chakra, at least that of Jounin level" he said "and I never waste chakra, every ounce I use has its purpose and is never leaked off after I perform techniques" he said, observing her curiously "so, after my explanation, what do you think your problem with the technique is?" he asked, wondering if his diversion with a new topic would have leaded her away from the obvious answer.

Sitting down like her makeshift 'sensei' was doing right now, Anko got in a thinking pose. She thought that it couldn't have anything to do with her control because no matter how frustrated she may have been with her current situation, she – for the most part – forgot all about it when learning this new technique, then, if that was the case, what was the point of that entire lecture he had just given her? Could it have been some sort of test? She asked herself, as she looked up to the boy who was now sitting on the tree branch and eating more Pocky while staring off into space. She frowned as a thought came to her; one that she wasn't sure was right but made sense in some backwards way.

"Did you mark the scrolls with gibberish because this technique was not meant to be taught? But rather, learnt yourself once given the principals of how it is created?" she asked slowly, and somewhat warily, she didn't want to appear to be a fool in front of the boy, and she didn't know why – he had this aura around him like the Sandaime did which made you _feel_ stupid when you got an answer to a question wrong, regardless of what they thought.

Naruto smirked down at her in amusement "What basic knowledge did I tell you about the Doku Bunshin?" he countered.

With a frown, Anko answered "That it's a combination of Dokugiri no Jutsu and Kage Bunshin no Jutsu…" she trailed off as he eyes went wide "Are you telling me that you expected me – the whole time – to just take that knowledge and recreate the technique myself?" she asked, her eyebrow twitching in annoyance at the 'cheapness' of the blonde who just shrugged in return.

"Not exactly, I did show you the hand seals for both separate techniques, thus, showing you how the chakra is moulded for both" he said "I expect you to, with that information, derive how the chakra _should_ be moulded and do so ­

to create a Kage Bunshin that has been filled with chakra that was moulded to take the form of poison…the technique is remarkably simple when you break it down like that – as I said however, you simply over complicated it" he finished with a shrug and Anko had to ruthlessly beat down the feeling she was getting as if she were back in the Academy and Ryoku-sensei was explaining the basics to her again. It made some sick sort of sense when he explained it like that, for she had indeed been trying to learn it based on the, most likely, fake hand seals provided by the scroll. He had wanted her to recreate the technique on her own the whole time, which wasn't unfair considering she only gave him the basic theory behind someone else's technique to begin with.

"Why are you helping me?" she asked, a frown crossing her face when she remembered what exactly the two of them were. One was the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki and criminal in Konohagakure no Sato and the other, her, was the loyal Konoha shinobi, if she were able to, she should be trying to apprehend him – she'd rather live though if she were honest with herself.

Naruto made a thoughtful noise as a piece of Pocky paused before continuing on its path into his mouth "You're not the first person to ask that question" said Naruto "Haku-chan wondered the same thing" he concluded, only to be interrupted.

"I thought he was a guy!" Anko yelped, feeling stupid, she certainly didn't see any womanly features on the masked-nin, aside from the fact that he wore nail and toe nail polish, which was not uncommon these days to see on men, even though she still thought it weird.

"That's debatable" shrugged Naruto "but when you find out for sure, let me know" he said with a smirk, causing her to flush with anger, just _what_ was he implying?! "As I was saying though" he started again "Haku-chan asked me the same question" he conceded "and my answer was simple" he said as he munched on another stick of Pocky.

Several moments of silence passed before Anko realized he wasn't going to say anything, which only served to heighten her annoyance at the present time.

"Well?" she asked impatiently.

"Hmm?" Naruto looked innocently at her, as if he hadn't heard her question "I'm sorry, did you say something?"

Anko had killed people for less and she was sorely tempted to end his life right there, but she just put that question to the back of her mind to ask at a later date – perhaps it was true what that Haku kid said and that he respected her?

It was unlikely but entirely possible, she was more favourable of the idea that he was trying to manipulate her for his own nefarious needs; he did feel her up after all!

"Is that all Anko-san?" he asked from his perch causing the woman to walk off out of the clearing, grumbling under her breath and therefore not noticing a certain blonde Jinchuuriki following her every movement, or rather, glancing at her shapely and powerful looking legs as she walked away.

Naruto shook his head and crumbled a few choice words under his breath also – if he ever met the author of 'Icha Icha Paradise' he would have to commend the man on writing such a addictive series of smut. Now that he thought about it, that wasn't such a farfetched thought seeing as the man was residing in the town not far away from his position at the moment.

Nine shadowy figures stood looking to the one with ripple like eyes for their orders. Kisame and Itachi had come back just recently, both worse for wear, saying that they had underestimated their opponents and paid the price for it – this also meant that they couldn't procure the ring from Naruto either.

"Without Orochimaru's and Sasori's rings, breaking through the seals on the Ichibi and the Kyuubi will be more difficult then we would like" commented the leader in a emotionless voice "for our plans to be successful, we will need all ten rings to perform the extractions of the bijou" he said, the other eight in the room remaining quiet so they could listen "We already know of the locations of the Ichibi, Nibi, Sanbi, Gonbi, Hachibi and Kyuubi, so, your missions are to, for now, locate the remaining bijou, sealed away or not, we will recommence with our mission in three years time by obtaining the rings from Orochimaru-san and Naruto-kun, and then we will proceed with the extraction processes" he finished, making sure his orders were clear.

"What do we do if we find a bijou and can capture it?" asked a voice that had no respect whatsoever for anyone other then Jashin-sama himself.

"If you can capture any of the bijou, then bring them to our base where we can keep them before sealing away the bijou" replied the leader, ignoring the disrespect in his follower's voice "however, should the task be too difficult, do not engage" he said as he glanced with his hypnotic eyes towards the silhouettes of Itachi and Kisame "we cannot afford mistakes that would weaken us in the future" he finished, not noticing how Itachi's eyes narrowed and Kisame's teeth grinded against each other in anger.

­

"You are dismissed"

Suddenly, seven of the silhouettes disappeared from the room leaving only two of them left. Both walking out of the shadows to reveal that they had both been in the room the whole time – one of them with auburn hair and piercings all over his face and the other, a female with blue hair and a paper flower accessory decorating her features, both were wearing the standard Akatsuki uniform.

"What will we do about the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki Pein" asked the woman to her long time friend.

"There is nothing we can do at the moment" he replied, his voice still containing that emotionless quality to it.

"Surely you can see that he is getting too powerful to be left alone – we will have a hard time procuring him with any of the teams we send, especially with his partner who seems quite skilled in his own right" she said, frowning in concern.

There was silence for several minutes before Pein broke it "We will not have to go to him, he will come to us" he said, making Konan's eyes widen slightly.

"You speak of the boy's mother" she clarified, getting a nod from Pein.

"We will capture her when the time is right, if he does not come, we will kill her, if he does come, we will kill her regardless for the trouble he has caused us" he said, sending shivers down Konan's spine – Pein was ruthless like that when it came to his enemies, anyone that stood against him had their whole families wiped out, which is why few opposed Pein openly.

"What of his sister?" asked Konan, getting more silence in return.

"She is too well hidden" replied Pein "no one knows of her location, and even if we did, I very much doubt she would be going under the same name that her parents had given her…"

Konan pursed her lips in disapproval at her long time friend's actions "This is a very reckless action Pein" she said "we don't even know the extent of his true abilities, if we learnt anything from Sasori, it was that the man was as cunning as they come – I highly doubt we have seen the best from either of the two puppet users" she said, in a warning tone.

"Are you implying that I cannot defeat him?" asked Pein in a dangerous voice which made Konan freeze in fear at the level of killing intent he was leaking out – Pein was weird that way, he would usually be emotionless, but the mere notion or idea of someone being stronger then him was enough to come close to enraging him.

"N-no, of course not Pein" she replied, and let out a silent sigh of relief when the killing intent vanished "but I'm sure Itachi and Kisame thought the same thing, and in return, they underestimated him, we all know the result of that".

Indeed they did; Itachi and Kisame had both arrived at the base, the former barely alive as the latter dragged his almost useless body all the way so he could receive treatment. The poison Naruto had used on him, while not exactly deadly, if left alone for too long could become fatal. Luckily the cure was not so hard to obtain, for a Sharingan user like Itachi would indeed be hard to replace.

"I never underestimate my opponents" was all he said as a reply before leaving the room.

Konan looked at the direction he stormed off towards in sadness, it seemed that the man she once loved, the man that would do anything to protect those precious to him was long gone and in his place was a monster hell bent on being the strongest. She would stick by him though, for it was the least she could do for the man she loved.

Jiraiya cursed as he fought off a wave of nausea as he woke up from his drunken slumber. He knew that this nausea wasn't from some stupid hangover here – Tsunade must have drugged him last night or slipped some odourless substance into his sake, when he saw the buxom woman next, he was going to give her a piece of his mind.

It had been a week since they arrived in Tanzaku city and all week, regardless of how logical his arguments were in regards to Tsunade returning to Konoha, she would not listen to reason and just wave off his arguments with propositions to gamble and drink instead. Sure, he won a lot of money in the week, more then he had ever won when gambling before but being the author of 'Icha Icha Paradise' assured Jiraiya that he would never have to work for money again, not to mention that gambling against Tsunade was just boring – Honestly, who goes all in on two pair?

Now though, he was certain she had drugged him so she could go and see Orochimaru without his company, for she knew he wouldn't sit idly by while the two conversed about whatever Orochimaru propositioned her, and even though Jiraiya knew nothing about what he exactly offered her, he could hazard a guess.

­

His late sensei had sacrificed his life to end Orochimaru's ambition permanently by sealing away his arms using the Shiki Fujin technique; this would mean that the only way for Orochimaru to regain the use of his arms would be if he had the abilities of the world's greatest medic-nin at his disposal. The only thing Jiraiya could think of that would sway Tsunade to do such a thing would be something regarding the main reason for her current misery – namely her former fiancé and younger brother who both died in service to Konoha.

Knowing what technique he used against the Sandaime, Jiraiya could only assume that it had something to do with their resurrection. The question of the hour was whether Tsunade was far gone enough to accept help from the snake, or also if she was willing to pay the sacrifices to see them alive once again – he was sure that if the two had seen her now, they would be disgusted with what she has become.

With a sigh and great difficulty, he left with Shizune, Kakashi, Genma and Anko towards the direction Kakashi's nin-dog summon was leading them with the use of its nose. He acts like a snake, and smells like a snake too, Jiraiya just found that amusing.

Tsunade couldn't believe she had been subdued so easily. Not only did she not factor the possible effectiveness of Orochimaru's assistant, nor that of the dozen Oto Jounin that were in his company, but she totally forgot the main fact that led to her undoing, the fact that Orochimaru of the Sannin was her team mate for over 30 years, and thus, knew nearly everything about her.

So, instead of being subdued in a blaze of glory, she was subdued in the most easily and efficient way possible. She had come with the intention of killing Orochimaru in the beginning, she had nothing but contempt for the man who desecrated the memory of her ancestors by bringing them back to life to aid him in the assassination of her sensei and betrayed Konoha in the most gruesome way possible all those years ago. If she was honest with herself, she did consider accepting his proposition to bring back her loved ones until something Jiraiya said struck a cord within her, and that was that should she be successful, Dan and Nawaki, the most precious people in the world to her, would be disgusted with her. She had given Jiraiya a black eye at the time, but he would never know the effect his words had on her.

So instead of coming to accept the proposal, she was planning on using the power of her healing jutsu to kill him instead – how was she to know that his apprentice was also an accomplished medic-nin that could tell them apart?

That was when the real fight started after Orochimaru ordered his Jounin not to interfere. The fact didn't surprise her as he probably would have seen it as an act of weakness had they done so, but boy was she wrong. With that cruel smirk of his, he ordered his apprentice to disable her quickly – expecting a quick attack to accompany such an order, she was shocked when instead, he took out a kunai and slashed his arms, letting blood gush out in torrents.

Blood, the vile and magnificent liquid of life. The one thing she despised seeing above all else. What else would one suspect of someone who was hemophobic?

So here she was, a quivering heap on the floor, not able to move a muscle in her body as they all tensed up and froze at the sight of the gushing red liquid while Orochimaru chuckled that annoying chuckle of his and his apprentice mirrored his cruel smirk.

"Take care of her Kabuto" ordered Orochimaru "I guess we'll need to find another method to cure my arms" he said, with a dismissive gesture as Kabuto moved in for the kill.

Kabuto activated his favourite technique, the chakra scalpel, a blade of chakra that forms around each hand that has the ability to cut through muscles, tendons, bone and arteries. In the hands of a novice, it was nothing but a sharper knife, but in the hands of an expert of the human anatomy, it can be used to quickly sever limbs and tendons, disable foes or quickly kill. On the other hand, the technique, when applied correctly, can be used for medicinal purposes like in surgery – it was one of the all purpose medical Ninjutsu that most medic-nin knew, but one that Kabuto had mastered and used extremely efficiently.

Rearing his hand back, he struck intent on severing the artery above her heart that sent blood to her brain but was stopped when a dozen senbon needles shot in his direction from not too far away. Looking to where the senbon came from, he wasn't so surprised to see Tsunade's apprentice, Jiraiya of the Sannin and three Konoha Jounin.

"Kukuku, it is about time you arrived here Jiraiya; I was wondering if you had become senile in your old age" Orochimaru said in a voice that Jiraiya still found extremely creepy, it had a mixture of glee and perverseness to it that forced you to shudder whenever hearing it regardless how many times you have heard it before.

"It didn't take a genius to realize what you were planning after sensei destroyed your dreams" Jiraiya retorted snidely and he knew he hit a soft spot when Orochimaru's eyes narrowed at Jiraiya in anger. At this point, Jiraiya would have usually attacked to catch his opponent off guard, but for some god awful reason, Tsunade thought it necessary to drug him with something that was screwing with his chakra control.

­

"Deal with the Konoha filth" Orochimaru ordered with a sneer as he motioned towards the five shinobi who just entered the scene. The dozen Jounin all responded with a 'Hai Orochimaru-sama' and leapt into action. The five new arrivals all split up to perform a different task with Shizune going over to help her sensei by stopping Kabuto and hopefully snapping her out of her hemophobia, Kakashi, Anko and Genma went off to try and hold off the dozen Jounin, one with different Ninjutsu, another with Snake style assassination Ninjutsu and Kenjutsu, and the last with precisely fired Senbon and Katon Ninjutsu. Jiraiya was left to take on Orochimaru which would be humorous in his opinion considering both of their conditions – one of them drugged and the other armless, it was like a fight between two crippled old men. Jiraiya could also tell how Anko really wanted to join in with his fight but he shut her up with a quick glare before turning back to Orochimaru.

"So" began Jiraiya "how's it gonna be teme? You are hardly a challenge to me without your arms" he taunted only to receive a smirk in return.

"You act as if I can't tell you've been poisoned Jiraiya" he replied before chuckling "I wasn't heralded as a genius for nothing you know" and with that, Orochimaru literally lurched out a sword, the legendary Kusanagi no Tsurugi from a snake in his throat and wielded it with an elongated tongue – the sight made Jiraiya want to gag but he restrained himself, he had of course, seen worse.

Not one to fight with Kenjutsu, Jiraiya took out a kunai and parried the wild and erratic sword strikes from the snake Sannin, however, regardless of how ill performed his attacks seemed, they were well timed and would immediately take advantage of a drop in guard if he ever showed one. Jiraiya smirked, not being able to stop himself from finding humour in the fact that Orochimaru had practised wielding a sword with his tongue.

After a good ten minutes with just a Kenjutsu spar, Orochimaru just jump backwards and smirked at him again "This fight does seem pointless Jiraiya-kun" he conceded, neither one of them were ever big fans of Kenjutsu, no matter how much Orochimaru would say otherwise. The Snake Sannin then lifted up sleeve to reveal an intricate summoning tattoo which he then swiped with some blood from his mouth by elongating his neck and rubbing it across his forearm; if the result wouldn't be so devastating, Jiraiya would have found such a sight hilarious.

Two cries of 'Kuchiyose no Jutsu' were heard and when the smoke cleared, Orochimaru was standing on a large three headed Snake grinning down at Jiraiya. When the smoke cleared around Jiraiya, a red toad wearing a jacket with a serious expression on his face look _up_ at Jiraiya.

"Yo" it greeted, causing Jiraiya to face vault straight into the ground.

"What the hell are you doing here Gamakichi?!" yelled Jiraiya, much to his old team mate's amusement.

"Oh, it's you" began the toad disdainfully "what the hell else do you think I'm doing here baka?! YOU summoned ME!" he retorted, pointing an accusatory finger at the white haired Sannin.

With a few choice words under his breath, Jiraiya glares at the useless foot tall toad and begins to make hand seals.

"If you're going to be useless" he began, before pausing on the last seal "I'm going to have to do this myself; Doton: Yomi Numa!" suddenly, Orochimaru frowns when his large three headed serpent lets out a hiss of annoyance. Looking down, he notices the ground getting damp and the snake beginning to sink in.

"Get out of this mud!" yelled Orochimaru "Before you are sucked under" he ordered angrily but it was already too late – the more the snake struggled, the deeper it sank until it was half way in.

Jiraiya, seeing how far the serpent sank in frowned. The technique was supposed to make a swamp with a depth of hundreds of feet – this didn't even come close. At least he was able to pull it off though; the drug looked to be leaving his system.

Uttering a violent curse, Orochimaru dismissed his own summon before leaping away from the artificial swamp which Jiraiya cancelled when the snake was dispelled.

"Not so cocky now, right, Orochi-teme?" taunted Jiraiya, using his nickname for the snake like man that he used at birth. Orochimaru just responded to his taunt with a heated glare, however, that turned into a smirk Kabuto returned to his side wearing a satisfied smirk.

"Ah, Kabuto-kun" purred Orochimaru "did you deal with the trash?" asked the Serpent Sannin with a sick smirk that was mirrored by Kabuto. By now, the three Jounin who had finished with dealing with the dozen Oto Jounin were by Jiraiya's side staring down their opponents, all looking worse for ware.

"Hai Orochimaru-sama" he began "they will be dead in a few moments from blood loss" he said, shocking the Konoha shinobi and true to their words, the group looked over to Tsunade and Shizune to see them bleeding out from the ­

thigh and chest respectively. Immediately, Jiraiya tried to rush over to their aid only to be stopped by six more Oto Jounin.

"Kukuku" chuckled Orochimaru "she crossed me Jiraiya-kun, and team mate or not, she dies for doing so" he said with a shrug "her apprentice didn't have to die, but she stepped in the way, so it was her own fault" he said, like their deaths meant nothing at all. This infuriated Jiraiya and Genma, for their own personal reasons, while Kakashi didn't show much externally. Anko on the other hand, was barely containing her fury, here he was, the person she hated the most, standing not 50 feet from her and she couldn't do anything because she was outmatched and outclassed, regardless of his condition.

Suddenly, Anko rushed at Orochimaru only for the Snake Sannin to smirk and motion towards his right hand man. Kabuto, wearing a sick smirk activated his chakra scalpels once again and lunged for her. Anko channelled her anger onto her new opponent, regardless of the protests being given by her team mates and side stepped a swipe with the chakra scalpels and prepared to deliver a sickening strike to Kabuto's grinning face.

"Anko no!" yelled Genma but it was too late, she had been stabbed in the back by her previous sensei who was wielding his Kusanagi with his tongue. Kabuto and Orochimaru smirked in triumph, ignoring the smirk that Anko too had on her face and turned back to their opponents.

"Who's next?" taunted Orochimaru only to swivel around when he heard a puff of smoke go out, like that of a Kage Bunshin.

Immediately, both Kabuto and Orochimaru turned around to be met with a cloud of purple poisonous gas engulfing them.

"What is this?!" spat Orochimaru, who unfortunately inhaled the substance when saying so. Kabuto, better versed when it came to poison recognized it immediately.

"Orochimaru-sama, do not breathe it in!" he yelled before going through several hand seals "Futon: Daitoppa" he yelled, using a gust a wind to blow away the poison that had engulfed the two of them.

The group of Konoha shinobi looked on in shock at the strange technique that was just used and to the newly discovered Anko, smirking while standing in a tree not too far away from the scene, admitting her handy work.

"Where's your smug attitude now teme?" taunted Anko "Thought you could kill me that easily?!" she challenged, watching as Kabuto quickly neutralized the poison inhaled by Orochimaru, but it was too late, it had already done enough damage to inhibit him if the blood seeping out of his mouth was anything to go by.

"What did you do to me?!" he hissed, allowing Kabuto to continue to heal him "I should have killed you when I had the chance you useless brat!" he shrieked "Kabuto, kill her through the cursed seal!" he ordered with sadistic glee. Anko's eyes widened in alarm, she didn't think he'd be able to do that without the use of his arms, but sure enough, Kabuto was placing his hands in a seal and smirking at her.

"Goodbye Anko-chan" he said in a sing song voice but before he could perform the jutsu that would kill her brain cells through the cursed seal, they all felt another chakra signature where the Oto Jounin were.

"Suiton" began the cloaked figure wearing a straw hat and large black cloak, his hands blaring in a long series of hand seals "Daibakufu no Jutsu!"

The Oto Jounin swivelled around too late, revealing four huge spirals of water materializing out of thin air and crashing into them at different angles.

The figure in the cloak didn't stop and continued to perform more hand seals at a speed that shocked the onlookers. The Oto Jounin didn't even have a chance to retaliate before the next jutsu was used.

"Mizu Kyu" it said in a clear voice and suddenly, the leftover water from the massive Daibakufu no Jutsu became a large cube shape, trapping all the Jounin within in a substance that looked thicker then normal water, and it probably was, judging by the fact that the Jounin looked frozen in place inside the cube.

The figure then, from beneath his cloak withdrew a small cylindrical item that was only recognized by two figures on the battlefield; Jiraiya and Orochimaru, both of whom widened their eyes in disbelief, especially when the cylindrical item sparkled to life revealing a blade of sparkling yellow electricity.

Without so much as a care in the world, the figure in the cloak rammed his sword into the water coffin and almost immediately, the Jounin within opened their eyes in a silent scream that couldn't be heard through the thick water prison. The mysterious shinobi held the sword within until he was certain all those within had perished – it wasn't a pretty sight.

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"I'm afraid" began the figure as he removed his hat "I can't let you do that Kabuto-san" said Naruto, not sounding remorseful in the slightest. Kabuto and Orochimaru looked on at their new opponent who had been able to create so much water out of nothing as if it were an every day task in shock. Anko glared at the people who came to saver her, yet again, recognizing the voice of Namikaze Naruto while Jiraiya, Kakashi and Genma recognized him simply by the description given in the Bingo Book.

"You think you could stop me?" asked a smug Kabuto "I know your tricks Naruto-kun, a piece of trash like you who fights by playing with dolls will not be enough to defeat me let alone Orochimaru-sama" he taunted, smirking his crazy, shit eating grin. Neither of the two knew they were falling right into Naruto's plan and spectacularly at that.

"Hmm?" Naruto looked over to the person who just spoke "You say something Kabuto-san?" asked Naruto, though it didn't seem to have an affect on anyone but Kakashi who smirked under his mask – he loved using that line and seeing others use it made him understand how annoying it could be and how cool someone looked when they were using it – oh, he would definitely use it more often.

"Greetings Orochimaru-san" greeted Naruto, pulling out a box of Pocky from beneath his cloak "I brought you a gift" he said before tossing the box at Kabuto who caught it with a frown. He then made the mistake of reading the label out loud.

"Semen…flavoured…Pocky?" he asked with confusion, ignoring his seething master beside him.

"You'll find" began Naruto, ignoring the snickers of Jiraiya, Kakashi and Anko while Genma smirked "that it actually says 'Young boy's Semen flavoured Pocky'; I saw it at the Pocky store, they apparently wanted to appeal to the Paedophile demographic and when I saw it, I immediately thought of the biggest Paedophile I knew, so naturally, I bought you some, you should try them" he said, ignoring the furious glare being sent his way.

Orochimaru knew he was being baited, but he couldn't help but get angry, the boy was just SO infuriating. That coupled with how he was embarrassed so easily last time only magnified his anger by epic proportions. Orochimaru then smirked, completely missing the figure that silently disappeared with the Slug Sannin and her apprentice before whispering something in Kabuto's ear, who mirrored his smirk upon hearing it.

After several moments of silence, where Naruto just allowed them to try and execute their plan, Kabuto charged at him, chakra scalpels flaring as he made poor slices for his body, which he dodged with ease. It was quite obvious that they were trying to lead him into a trap yet he still allowed them to play their little game, it would only be all the sweeter when it failed.

After dodging a final swipe from Kabuto, he saw a large confident smirk appear on his face "You fell for our trap Naruto-kun"

Suddenly, from the tree he was standing near, Orochimaru appeared with his neck elongated, the Orochimaru they all thought was the real thing only crumbled into mud on the floor.

"You will now become one of my puppets Naruto-kun" he said with a cackle before lodging his fangs into Naruto's neck to administer the Ten no Juin.

"NO!" yelled Jiraiya, seeing what just happened, however, he stopped his advance when a puff of smoke engulfed Naruto causing Kabuto to jump back, thinking it was a trap, however, for some reason, Orochimaru was not able to as he seemed to disappear in the puff of smoke.

When the smoke cleared, none of them expected to see what they saw right there, which definitely shocked them beyond belief, for where Naruto once stood now stood a man with white hair held out of his face with a silver helmet style Konoha forehead protector with red markings on his pale face. He was also clothed in a black body suit with blue samurai style armour with a furry white neckpiece – the man looked just like and dressed just like the Nidaime Hokage of Konoha, in fact, the only thing that suggested he was anything but were his glassy eyes and several marks covering his exposed skin suggesting it was a puppet.

It then all dawned on them what the Nidaime meant when he addressed Naruto in Konoha, it al dawned on them what that puppet was, it _was_ the Nidaime Hokage made into a puppet; and Orochimaru was now staring at the puppet in shock while choking as the puppet had his neck in a death grip, however, it no longer spoke, it juts turned its head to look at him.

Suddenly, a voice began to speak that appeared to come from all directions "So, how do you like one of my favourite puppets?" he asked, obvious mirth in his voice at seeing the shock in their faces upon realizing who it was "He was known to be the single master of Suiton jutsu in the shinobi world, for his proficiency with them and ability to manipulate the molecules in the air to create water were matched by no one" he said, the Nidaime puppet still holding Orochimaru's neck in a vice like grip, not allowing him to escape while Kabuto looked less sure of himself.

­

Jiraiya, finally recovering from his shock looked over to the one thing the puppet reminded him of, the Nidaime's grandniece and famed Sannin of Konoha, Tsunade, but to his shock, she was no longer where she once was, neither was Shizune, the only thing that remained was two pools of blood. However, suddenly, there was a chakra signature behind him and he whirled around, the action being mirrored by Genma and Kakashi, only to find a masked shinobi with the bodies of Tsunade and Shizune no longer bleeding.

"They will be fine, I have stopped the bleeding" the masked-nin said and before anyone could react, he disappeared in a puddle of water in to the ground. The only person that recognized the shinobi was Anko who looked at the puddle in which he disappeared in with wide eyes and then back at Naruto before smiling slightly. The boy was amazing.

"Are you afraid, Kabuto-san?" asked the voice of Naruto, whose voice still seemed to be coming from all over the clearing they were in "Sure you would want to save your master" he taunted and by the murderous look in Orochimaru's eyes as he choked, he agreed that it was the wisest choice, but what could he do when he couldn't se his opponent and the Nidaime Hokage – puppet or not – was grappling Orochimaru in a vice like grip.

"Who are you calling afraid Naruto-kun?" asked Kabuto to the clearing, knowing Naruto could hear him "You are the one who fights from the shadows" he taunted, wanting to draw him out.

"Is it not the way of the shinobi to remain in the shadows?" he replied back, his calm voice reverberating off every object in the clearing sending shivers down their spines "for if we did not, we would be nothing more then petty Samurai" he continued "is that what you are Kabuto-san?"

Kabuto narrowed his eyes, trying to ignore the face of his master going blue "If you don't come out now Naruto-kun, I will have to kill Anko-chan" he said, the threat lingering in the air.

"Very well" was his only response, however, this time the voice came from directly behind Kabuto as the real Naruto appeared in all his glory. His head was not covered by his straw hat, allowing his blonde spiky hair to glimmer in the sun, however, Kabuto didn't have enough time to admire his looks as Naruto reared back his right fist and, to the shock of everyone in the clearing, punched Kabuto in the stomach and sent him flying right towards Orochimaru and the Nidaime puppet.

"How the hell?" were the simultaneous thoughts of every shinobi in the clearing, including Orochimaru, for Naruto had just shown a masterful control over the technique that made Tsunade famous.

Before Orochimaru or Kabuto could recover from their shock, the Nidaime puppet flung the Snake Sannin at Kabuto mid air and re-took the Raijin in this hand before lunging at the pair. As he charged the two airborne shinobi that were about to collide, Kabuto latched onto Orochimaru and performed the substitution technique with a stray log, however, the small victory did not last long for Naruto, from behind the two, lifted his right leg up high and brought it smashing down where Orochimaru and Kabuto were barely able to escape being crushed as the ground split into a large Fissure under the massive assault.

"Kabuto quick – Manda!" ordered Orochimaru as Kabuto nodded and before Naruto could bare down on them again and follow up his attack, he smeared blood over the snake summoning seal on Orochimaru's forearm and applied enough chakra to summon Manda. Instantly, Naruto fled for cover as a large plume of smoke covered the clearing only to reveal a huge purple horned snake with Orochimaru and Kabuto standing on his head.

"Hiding now are we Naruto-kun?" called out Orochimaru with glee.

"**What the hell did you summon me for teme?!" **roared the huge snake summon as Orochimaru glared at it for his lack of respect.

"We have an opponent who has control over the Nidaime Hokage's abilities, I am in need of your assistance" he replied, infuriating Manda in the process.

"**You summoned me to deal with ONE person?! How pathetic ARE you teme?!"** it roared, causing Anko to gain an ounce of respect for the boss of the snakes.

"You will do as you're told for I summoned you, worm!" Orochimaru roared, making Manda narrow its eyes in anger.

"**I will require 200 sacrifices the next time you summon me for this, and if there are none ready, I will take you as a sacrifice, are we understood?"**he hissed, getting a curt nod from Orochimaru, that was definitely easy enough.

Naruto sighed as he looked at his large Snake opponent; first it was a Tanuki demon and now this? He needed someone with a summoning contract with him, in fact, he had heard of the legendary Dragon summoning contract located somewhere in Kumo, he would have to look into that for the future, but now wasn't the best time. Silently ­

creating two Kage Bunshin, he sent one to Haku and the other to Jiraiya with his instructions as he manipulated his Nidaime puppet from the shadows, not noticing that Tsunade had just awoken from her episode.

"Ergh" Tsunade moaned, alerting those around her to her presence "what the hell happened?" she asked nobody as Jiraiya rushed to her side.

"Tsunade-hime, are you ok?" he asked, desperately trying _not_ to look down her cleavage that became all the more visible in her dischelved state "Kabuto attacked you while you were in shock from seeing blood, as well as Shizune but…"

"Where's Shizune?!" she asked with desperation "is she ok?!" she asked franticly receiving a nod from Jiraiya.

"She's on the floor next to you, Naruto's team mate healed you both and brought you here" he answered, receiving a confused glance from Tsunade.

"Who the hell is Naruto?" she asked, not recognizing it as one of the names of the Konoha shinobi that came with Jiraiya, but before he could answer, someone else did.

"I am Tsunade-baasama" replied a monotonous voice of a figure behind the group, causing them to all swivel around in surprise at someone being able to sneak up on them, only to reveal Naruto himself. Jiraiya then looked back to the battlefield to see the Nidaime puppet still dodging Manda's furious strikes. Must be a Kage Bunshin.

"And who the hell are you?!" Tsunade asked in anger, she didn't like strangers saving her let alone strangers sneaking up on her and calling her old. In response, Naruto merely lifted his hat to reveal two crimson eyes that caused the colour in Tsunade's face to drain, even more so after her condition.

"I see you keep up with the latest Bingo books, I'm glad" he said, though his voice said otherwise "though I don't much care; Jiraiya-san, I need you to use that Doton jutsu on Manda to trap him while I set on destroying him, I need him immobile, can you do it?" he asked only receiving a nod in return before Jiraiya frowned.

"I could just summon Gamabunta" he said "it would be a lot safer" he said before he stopped when Naruto glared at him.

"And who will protect these weakened shinobi if you go off to fight?" he challenged before shaking his head "Can you do it?" he asked again and Jiraiya nodded at him, signifying his compliance making Naruto nod and as he was about to walk away, the clone spaced out, probably receiving orders from the original; now everyone was watching with baited breath when the clone reached into his cloak and pulled something out.

"I apologize for the inconvenience and the poor timing Jiraiya-sama" he said, shocking everyone at the change of honorific, however, the shock only grew when he pulled out a shiny orange book labelled 'Icha Icha Parade: Special Edition: Volume 1' from his cloak and handed it to him "can you please sign my book?"

Kakashi stared at the book in reverence, then at Jiraiya, and finally at the Naruto clone before letting out a giggle. Genma looked on in shock at the boy asking the author of a porn novel to sign said porn novel for him and Tsunade was steadily leaking out killing intent directed at both Naruto and Jiraiya who seemed to shrug it off as Jiraiya greedily took the book and signed it with his special 'Author's Friend Autograph Pen' that he carried around with him everywhere.

Naruto nodded in thanks before disappearing into the trees, most likely heading back to the original; however, Tsunade just asked a question that caused Jiraiya to pale in horror.

"Why the hell is there a shinobi dressed as my great uncle fighting Manda?" she asked in confusion.

The three male shinobi looked at each other, all motioning for the other to explain it to her, for none were foolish enough to do it themselves and be the target of her anger. What other kind of reaction could you expect from someone who just realized a loved relative's corpse was used to create a human puppet?

Naruto smirked as he pocketed his now favourite book before turning back to the battle as he commanded the puppet to dodge the snake's strikes. He had just then gotten another influx of information informing him that Haku knew of the plan and is ready to comply.

Naruto then, after having selected what technique he was going to have the Nidaime use, got ready to use it at the first sight of Manda sinking into the ground.

When he heard a shout of 'Yomi Numa' once again, he immediately leapt into action.

­

"**What the hell is this?!"** hissed the great snake, causing Orochimaru to turn his head to the smirking Jiraiya in anger, however, before he could do anything and order Manda to try and escape his mud prison, the Nidaime puppet began a long chain of hand seals at a rapid rate.

'_Suiton: Suigadan no Jutsu' _

With the command sent to his puppet, the puppet stopped on the last hand seal and suddenly, using the moisture from the mud created with the Yomi Numa, eight crystal clear water drills materialized out of the mud and shot at the snake at a rapid speed.

"**You think you can pierce my skin with a water pistil teme?!"** yelled the large and irate Snake, however, the Snake's taunting stopped when he noticed the speed of the water drills dramatically increase and turn into eight long, deadly looking, spears of ice.

Before Manda could get impaled by the eight huge icicle spears, he dismissed himself with a final warning to Orochimaru that he would kill him the next time he was summoned.

Naruto smirked at his handiwork while Jiraiya smiled slightly – Naruto was definitely all that was said about him and more – a true genius shinobi.

Before Orochimaru and Kabuto could regain their bearings after falling from the height of Manda's head, Naruto and the Nidaime puppet both charged at them again and began a furious assault. The onlookers were surprised and rightfully shocked to see the co-ordination between the two, as even though Naruto could only use one hand himself, he was still doing plenty of damage by slamming his fist and feet into the ground and creating small earthquakes while the Nidaime slashed at them expertly with his Raijin.

Getting annoyed by his foe's evasion abilities, Naruto tried a different tactic and locked eyes with the both of them and cast a several layered Genjutsu, it was nothing major, but it was enough to get within their guards. All he did was make them see him moving left to strike when in fact, he was remaining still and slamming the ground while he commanded his puppet to move in behind.

Orochimaru knew he was in a Genjutsu that was potentially dangerous, but he had no way to dispel it and his fool apprentice was being useless as usual so he had to wait and see what would happen, however, he figured out exactly Naruto's plans the hard way, with a sharp pain to his lower spine.

Orochimaru looked down in horror as a beam of yellow energy was sticking out of his stomach while Naruto glared into his eyes – the crimson of his eyes only that much more terrifying in his position.

Naruto then began to speak "I know you just got away and this is just a mud clone, but be sure to remember this Orochimaru" he said, shocking Orochimaru at how easily he was discovered "I know you didn't get out in time to avoid the Raijin's damage and as soon as I find where you are, I will kill both you and your idiotic apprentice, so run" he began before moving closer and hissing the rest of it out "continue to run and cling to your life and remember that I hold your life in my hands, and I will crush it when I find you and your little club house" he hissed as Orochimaru and Kabuto both dissolved into a pile of dirt rocks.

Naruto, with a final look towards Anko who was staring right back at him impassively, not letting her emotions show, smirked and bowed slightly before he resealed the puppet into his arm and disappeared in a gust of wind.

Kakashi, Genma, Jiraiya and Tsunade all looked at the recently ended fight in awe, how could a kid do all that? Where did he get so strong? Does he harbour ill will towards Konoha? Were all some of the questions running through their minds; however, Tsunade had another question running through her mind.

"Jiraiya" she said in a deadly serious tone, as she began to check up on Shizune while addressing him without looking at him "You have a lot of explaining to do and I won't go back to Konoha unless you tell me the truth and everything you know" she said, not even looking at him as she said it.

"Hai, Hokage-sama" he said, though it wasn't appreciated as Tsunade just glared at him with a look that sent shivers down his spine.

Jiraiya then turned to Anko with a look of seriousness on his face "You can also tell me what your connection with Naruto is right now" he said, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Suspecting me of treason already are you?" she said, sounding indifferent "He taught me the Doku Bunshin and I told him how the curse seal effects me – as you know, he's also saved my life twice – is the interrogation over Jiraiya-_sama_?" she asked, not impressed that she was being question for having affiliation with the person who just saved their asses.

­

Jiraiya just nodded and walked off towards the city again.

Kakashi stood; looking in the direction Naruto disappeared into with a strange that no one could see due to the mask the forever covered the lower half of his face.

'_Minato-sensei would be proud of you Naruto-kun'_

Author's Note:

Sorry for the late update, but I honestly had trouble with writing this chapter and it may seemed rushed and poorly written at some points, this is mainly because I had a major urge to just scrap this fic and begin with my Harry Potter one. It's not that I like this one or the other more, because if other author's were writing this story and the Harry Potter story I have thought of, I would love to read them both equally as much, but as the writer, it just seems to much easier to write a Harry Potter story because the universe is much more similar to ours save the magic factor, the fight scenes aren't as complicated and it just has SO much more to write about.

Fear not, I definitely won't scrap this fic, but honestly, all those author's who read my fic that have their own stories in my favourites, I honestly get more egged on to write more when I read other stories, so, update more often!

Let me know what you think of this chapter, it is my longest yet I think and I hope the introduction of the first Kage puppet was pretty massive, but it won't be all that spectacular until I get them out in twos or threes and I start using their talents in combination with each other. I also hope you like how Naruto completely outsmarted or just owned Orochimaru and Danzo, I sure did!

And, I also recommend you read these stories, they are ones I've been reading a lot lately:

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by TIJK

This story has the potential to be the best HP story ever if the author keeps increasing his Transfiguration skills and makes him fight with them, honestly, Transfiguration Harry is SO awesome, I know mine will be like that as well as Charms when I wrote my story, none of that 'I need to use the dark arts to be cool', leave that for ol' Tom and his merry band of terrorists!

A Black Comedy by nonjon

A funny ass HP story that I love to read. Main characters are Sirius and Harry and they are both pretty much both the Playboys of the Wizarding world in an AU where both the original Sirius and Harry died many years ago, read it, it makes me laugh, especially with the 'After Dark Mark' – that's gold.

Tangled in Death by MogtheGnome

This is the Naruto/Bleach crossover I was talking about with the pairing being Naruto and Nanao-chan! Its awesomeness and I strongly suggest you read it if you are a fan of either manga. Naruto isn't super strong and his Zanpakuto is original, he is also slightly stronger then Ichigo when he comes to save Rukia but much more combat savvy.

That's all for now – if you want to know more about the HP story I'm going to write, ask so in PMs or in the reviews and I'll elaborate a lot more in my Bio I guess… leave reviews, I like them!

Adios.

Second Author Note:

_"Hemophobia is the fear of Blood. Homophobia is the fear of gays. though with orochimaru there it wouldn't matter what you called it. :P"_

I was seriously tempted to change that part of the chapter because that line had me laughing quite hard. I have a reason for the errors other then not liking gay people all that much! HONEST! It was like 2am when i was finishing the second part of this chapter and i must have auto corrected the term to homo, still, it made me 'lol' when i realized it.

I'm glad people like this fic so much but don't hate on the Harry Potter fic - i guarantee you the reason why you don't like them is because you haven't read one that's been written by me. I too am dissapointed in their quality as of late, save the ones i mentioned earlier, though the one i WILL write eventually will be much _much _better then the overdone 'Harry reads Sirius Will, gets secret unheard of powers and becomes a multi animagus who can control every element and a time altering device that allows him to train a lot in little time'. Regardless, I think his sister has become very obvious however, just for that final nudge, i should say that if Naruto is 14 in this fic, that makes Tayuya 21, yeah, no ­

she's not his sister - which leaves one possibility, and i still think she was the most obvious from the start without making OCs. Imagine how Naruto will react when he finds out where his sister is and what she's been doing... oh noes. That is the last teaser i will ever give, enjoy it, savor it, it wont happen again.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Kuchiyose no Jutsu

Chapter 14: Kuchiyose no Jutsu!

Nine ominous shadows stood in a circle in a dark cave in an undisclosed location, the only distinguishable portion of each individual's silhouette being their eyes which shone in the dark, all awaiting their newest orders and ready to give their briefings.

"It has been two months since we have last gathered" began Pein, or 'Leader', as all the members sans Konan and the ever disrespectful Jashin worshipper Hidan referred to him as "You were all given your assignments, what do you have to report?"

The first shinobi who opted to speak did so; his name was Kakuzu, partner to Hidan and a member of the 'immortal' duo of the Akatsuki. He was known by those who were privy to his identity to take the hearts of his victims into his own body to prolong his own life and gain their abilities.

"Minus my cut" he began "I have gathered 8 million yen for your cause…" he began only to be rudely cut off by his partner.

"What the fuck do you mean 'I have gathered' you piece of shit! I did most of the work!"

"Calm yourself Hidan" spoke the leader, not letting his irritation at the duo seep into his voice, but his voice let all who heard it know that he was not in the mood to mess around "no one doubts your contributions to Akatsuki, so let Kakuzu continue his report please" he finished.

With a few choice words under his breath, all of which would make a seasoned sailor embarrassed, he allowed Kakuzu to continue "As I was saying, we completed the assigned missions earlier then expected so we hunted down four missing-nin from the latest Bingo book and gathered their bounties from Kusagakure, Sunagakure, Iwagakure and Konohagakure" he said, finishing his report.

"Were you spotted in either village with or without your uniform?" asked Pein, wanting to make sure they were not exposed too early. Sure, he was one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful shinobi in the world, but Akatsuki were only nine shinobi strong and he had yet to complete phase one of his plans so they had to be cautious until they could afford to expose themselves somewhat.

"Iie Leader-sama" he answered "no one spotted us and those who had to see us merely saw us in a Henge, you needn't worry."

Apparently satisfied with the report, he turned to Kusa no Zetsu next. Zetsu, ex shinobi of Kusagakure no Sato is a cannibal whose head was encased in a massive Venus flytrap that allowed him to easily and efficiently dispose of bodies the Akatsuki didn't want to be found, making him the hunter-nin of Akatsuki.

"What is your report regarding the mission I assigned you Zetsu?" he asked, eager to hear this one.

Zetsu seemed to shift uncomfortably, or his silhouette did anyway. Zetsu's weird make-up made him seem to be bipolar at most times, however, those who knew of him knew that he in fact seemed to have a multi-personality disorder, that or two souls actually inhabited his own body as one half of his body often conversed with the other while both having different opinions when doing so, nobody cared to ask because nobody cared, he did his job well and that was all that mattered.

"I apologize Leader-sama" he began "I went to the last village she was known to reside in near the former whirlpool country only to find no traces of her, and anything that could lead us to her current location appears to vanished also" he said, before his other personality took over, the more vicious and angry of the two "knowing who her late husband was, I wouldn't be surprised if one of the Sannin or the Hokage himself helped hide her away for her own protection."

Pein seemed to go silent for a moment, and all present in the room expected Zetsu to be punished, little did they know that Pein was reminiscing about his youth and his old sensei _'You have really outdone yourself...Jiraiya-sensei, but how long can you keep her hidden from the world, you will have to slip up eventually'_.

"Your report has told me more then you think Zetsu, thank you" he said, allowing Zetsu to release a sigh of relief that he hadn't known he had been holding.

Beside Pein, Konan observed her long time love warily and with sadness. Ever since Naruto had come into the picture and started to cause problems for Akatsuki, Pein had become increasingly temperamental in his own weird way and vicious, killing people more often then he normally would, Could it be that he felt threatened by the boy and for this, he felt angry? She quickly stopped that train of thought as soon as it started however realizing how ludicrous it sounded, Pein, the one known to have never been defeated threatened by a 14 year old boy? She highly doubted it; however, she couldn't explain the feeling of dread that started to form in the pit of her stomach.

­

"Your assignments for now are to continue doing 'S-ranked' missions for half the regular price until I tell you otherwise, we won't be moving against the Jinchuuriki for another two and a half years yet" he said and as he observed most of his followers about to cut their connection he called out to two members "Itachi, Kisame, you two are expected to deliver double of the money compared to the others as a punishment of your failure to reobtain Sasori-san's ring. Dismissed."

With a slight narrowing of the eyes by Itachi and a few choice words from Kisame, they too disappeared leaving only Konan and Pein alone in the chamber in silence. Neither spoke a word until another image reappeared before them opposite the two long time friends.

"What are your intentions with the Kyuubi?" asked the new figure who appeared in the chamber Pein and Konan were residing in, in such a way that an observer would think he was ordering the supposed 'leader' of Akatsuki around.

"He will learn what happens when he interferes in my affairs the hard way" began Pein "I will annihilate his friends, family and any affiliates before finally killing him. He will learn before the end what it means to trifle in the affairs of a god."

Neither noticed Konan flinching at those words.

The new figure, while amused at his subordinate's declaration was not amused by the implications "Remember that you work for me Pein" he said in a dangerous voice "and I don't take kindly to people who do not know their place – you may be strong and you may possess the Rinnegan but if you cross me, I won't hesitate to kill you in an instant. That being said, I don't care what you do with the Kyuubi, go on your little warpath for all I care, but if you should fail in the task I have entrusted to you, you will pay with your life."

Only someone who knew Pein their whole life would know what the difference in posture he now had from a few moments ago. Konan was one of those people and just by observing Pein, she could tell that he feared the man, regardless of how strong he himself is, which worried her just as much as Pein's recent behaviour did.

"Hai Uchiha-sama" replied Pein while bowing his head to show he understood.

With a final nod, Uchiha Madara's silhouette disappeared from the chamber leaving Pein and Konan alone once again.

"What was that about?" asked a curious and worried Konan, however, Pein just remained silent and after a few moments, his eyes closed and his silhouette phased out of the room without having answered Konan's question.

Konan merely frowned at being ignored before she too disappeared from the chamber.

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Tsunade the slug Sannin sat in her new office that the Hokage of Konoha occupied sporting a headache of massive proportions. The reason? Namikaze Naruto.

Ever since Jiraiya told her about the boy and how he somehow attained 'S-class' status at such a young age, she was dubious to say the least. However, she couldn't argue with what she saw when the boy took on both the traitorous Snake Sannin and his little protégé. At the time, Tsunade had wanted to kill the Namikaze heir herself when she saw him using the body of her deceased great uncle so callously during battle, regardless of how effective it was, but she was hardly in a position to protect due to the injuries she had sustained during said fight.

Jiraiya had, to her request (more like order) explained all he knew of Namikaze Naruto, going into his skills with Genjutsu, his masterful control over his Kugutsu technique, and now his implementation of her super strength technique – which if she was honest with herself, impressed her that he was able to replicate it so easily.

Jiraiya had also told her of what her 'grandfather' and 'granduncle' had told the Namikaze gaki when they were summoned by Orochimaru – that they gave Naruto his blessings in using their bodies. She wanted more then anything to send out a whole squadron of ANBU to kill the brat for disrespecting her family like that, but what could she do when the very men's bodies he is using don't mind that he is doing so? Nothing was the answer.

The cause of her current headache though and the reason why Namikaze Naruto was related to this most recent cranial attack was because of Uchiha Sasuke.

"What do you mean he fought Itachi?!" he brat yelled at her. What sheer audacity he exuded to think he had any right to demand anything of her. Did he think she was some Uchiha lover like the elders of the council and Danzo? She had read reports of Naruto's threats to the three elders of the village and she secretly hoped that they were stupid enough to try something against Naruto again so he could come through on that threat, it would certainly solve some of her headache problems.

­

Tsunade watched with amusement dancing in her eyes as Kakashi held back his student from making a fatal mistake and trying to attack a Hokage to get the answers he desires. Jiraiya, who had been giving her a report on the Akatsuki's movements before team seven barged in without being called was surprised and angered that they had done so and heard such delicate information.

"Is it common practise for Jounin and Genin to barge into the Hokage's office unannounced in Konoha these days?" chided Tsunade, not willing to show the second biggest pervert in Konoha just how angry she was at him – it wouldn't bode well if the Uchiha believed he was privy to such sensitive information.

"My apologies Hokage-sama" Kakashi replied with a boy while still restraining Sasuke who was trying his hardest to break the hold "we were coming in for missions and I hadn't sensed anyone else's presence inside; I failed to consider that Jiraiya-sama would be in here and the reason why I didn't sense anybody's presence" he then pause, choosing his next words carefully "you are usually…indisposed…as of late when we arrive and I believed today would be no different so I decided a wake-up call would be in order" he replied happily, trying to lighten the mood – it only partly worked.

Jiraiya snorted, trying to hide his laughter while Tsunade sent him a death glare "Sleeping on the drop you drunk?"

Kakashi gaped at the toad Sannin and at his stupidity as he went sailing through a wall right past team seven.

Tsunade then turned to the last loyal Uchiha who had his Sharingan activated with a crazed look in his eyes trying to intimidate her. Deciding she had enough of his actions that were dangerously close to insubordination – a very serious offence in any shinobi village – she plucked him from Kakashi grip by holding him by the neck and slamming him up against the wall. Kakashi looked unsurprised at the action while Sakura shrieked and Hanabi smirked (it was no secret that the Hyuuga were less then fond of the Uchiha and vice-versa.

"Listen here you little punk" she hissed out "you may be the last Uchiha and the council may very well bow to your every whim, but don't mistake me for the council" she said, watching with satisfaction as Sasuke's Sharingan disappeared and signs of fear showed in his eyes, though anger and hate seemed to still be present and the overpowering emotion "I don't care about your ridiculous family problems and I don't want to care, but the next time you think to demand anything of me, I'll have you do D-ranked missions for the rest of your natural life. Is that understood?"

Sasuke looked away from the Hokage and nodded begrudgingly as Tsunade let him down.

"Seeing as you've already heard most of the report then I may as well tell you so that you don't go spreading false rumours. The information is not that important and sensitive anyway unless you plan on collecting on the Namikaze brat's bounty" seeing their confusion, she decided to elaborate, despite Kakashi's desperate attempt to get her to stop, she would coddle no one.

"Namikaze Naruto, otherwise known as Uzumaki Naruto is apparently listen as an 'S-classed' criminal of Konohagakure no Sato for having the audacity to live through an attack on his person as a child and leaving the village when he survived said attack while he was only a citizen" she said, deciding not to say anything about the Kyuubi as it wasn't necessary.

"But…" Sakura interrupted, ignoring the glare Tsunade sent her way "my kaasan said he did deserve it and that he was a demon…she said that he was the Kyuubi no Kitsune…"

Kakashi slapped his forehead with his hand and groaned while Tsunade looked right at Sakura, seemingly staring into her soul, ignoring the shocked looks on Sasuke's and Hanabi's faces, despite how amusing any Hyuuga looked when shocked.

"Your mother is an idiot" was all Tsunade said, deciding not to punish the woman as the boy was no longer a citizen of Konoha anyway and the Sandaime's law regarding the secret behind Naruto's curse be kept just that, a secret, was pointless if the boy was not a citizen or shinobi of Konoha.

Ignoring the angered look on Sakura's face, Tsunade was about to continue before Hanabi spoke up "We are told that the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato was the one who defeated the Kyuubi. Why does this criminal take his name? Is it to mock the late Yondaime for failing to defeat the demon?"

Tsunade looked at the Hyuuga and smirked before, in a moment of poor judgement, continued "He calls himself Namikaze Naruto because his father was the Yondaime Hokage of Konoha, also known as Namikaze Minato and people refer to him as a demon because his father sealed the demon within his own child to save the village – so you see why I called Haruno-san an idiot. I may not be fond of the kid and wouldn't care if he lived or died either way but he isn't a demon, besides, seeing as he left before he was a shinobi to this village and thus tied to it, the council has no real reason to label him a criminal. Unfortunately if I were to make it so that he wasn't anymore, I could be facing a civil war or more bouts of insubordination" she said, glaring pointedly at Sasuke who shrunk away from her gaze "for favouring him."

­

Kakashi sat there awestruck, but not for a good reason. He would never tell her this out loud, simply because she would probably kill him, but what she had just done was incredibly stupid for more reasons then one…

"So…he's so powerful because he has the power of a demon to aid him?" Sasuke asked with a smirk only to receive a scoff from Tsunade despite Kakashi's desperate attempts to silence her with slashing motions to his neck in an attempt to keep her quiet.

"I may not like the gaki, but he's strong, and he has never been reported to use Kyuubi's chakra, you see, the demon's chakra was vile, evil and above all else, extremely potent. If he were to use it anywhere neat the village, many experienced shinobi would be able to sense it and thus him, not very smart for someone on the run as it were" she said, causing Sasuke's eyes to narrow further in anger "so basically, he beat Itachi-san with his own strength and he had never used the Kyuubi's, interesting no?"

That was it, all the hard work Kakashi had done to placate the Uchiha went down the drain. Months of work to convince him that he could get the strength he needed to kill his brother within the village all for nothing as the Hokage pretty much told him that someone who left the village was able to attain the strength to defeat his brother. It was annoying and liberating at the same time – he was growing tired of putting up with the Uchiha's attitude.

"Don't worry Sasuke-kun" the pink haired girl of the team butted in "that baka probably just caught your brother by surprise, I bet you're much better then he is" she gushed, going into her fan girl mode with heats in her eyes "besides, he may not use the demon's power, but he is still probably the demon just possessing Namikaze's body to do his dirty work, there's no other way he can be stronger then you."

Kakashi actually groaned out loud now – out of all the things to say or even insinuate, that was one thing you didn't want to say out loud. The most ironic thing was that it came from the one person that nobody expected, Sakura, the one who apparently loved Sasuke the most was the one to probably harm him the most psychologically with that jab at his skills.

Seething, Sasuke left the room without being dismissed while Kakashi apologised for his students and bowed to the Hokage before following them out of the room, leaving an amused Tsunade behind.

After they had left and she was left alone for a few moments, Tsunade's mind went to her old friend who she had not seen in such a long time – Uzumaki Kushina. According to what Jiraiya had said, Naruto had taken an interest in his family and the only reason she could think of for his sudden interest was to either turn her into one of his puppets or just kill her for abandoning him as a child. She may not have agreed with her reasoning for doing so but Kushina was still one of her best friends, having served as he bride's maid for her wedding how could she not be?

Tsunade and Jiraiya had already taken measures to relocate her to another hiding location, worried for her safety, but not only from Naruto. People who would seek to harm Naruto would go to the most logical place to do so, his only remaining family, and that was his mother and his still lost sister – Tsunade idly thanked Kami for small favours. Kushina's daughter having been lost probably will save her life if she isn't already dead…

Tsunade was then hit with an epiphany. Naruto and his sister were twins. How could everyone overlook such an obvious fact? Probably because he is an 'S-class' killing machine they refuse to see him as still a fourteen year old child. Could it be that he feels what all separated twins feel? A hole in his soul? A missing piece that has yet to be filled that can only be done so with his sister? Could he be searching her out or trying to find her himself? It would certainly make sense if he really didn't want to kill his mother…the reports about his personality did say he was extremely apathetic about everything according to Anko so it wouldn't be a big stretch to think that…she wouldn't risk it though… Shinobi who are that strong at such a young age are usually prone to being mentally unstable, she would not gamble her friend's life over a hunch, that doesn't mean she wouldn't share that information with Jiraiya though…

It was then that she realized that unintentionally, Namikaze Naruto had been the cause for another of her headaches. Going for her hidden stash of Sake, she looked around with narrowed eyes for her ever omniscient apprentice who somehow had a 'sake sense' that disrupted her pre breakfast, after breakfast, after-after breakfast, after lunch, after-after lunch, pre-dinner, after diner, after-after dinner, pre bedtime and bedtime sake breaks. Glad that she didn't sense her anywhere, she took a small sip of her beloved sake…

"TUNADE-SAMA!"

Goddamn it…

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Naruto stood beside Haku with their heads angled upwards looking at the mountain before them which seemed to go on forever. They had been doing a few 'A' to 'S' classed missions for businessmen ever since their run in with the three legendary Sannin while gradually making their way to Kumo to apparently find a summoning contract.

­

"I think it would be beneficial if one of us learned to summon" Naruto had said to Haku when they first entered Kumo's borders undetected. When Haku had asked how they could so easily obtain a summoning contract seeing as they were usually guarded zealously Naruto only replied with a snort.

"Who said it would be easy?" he had responded at the time.

Trying and failing to see the peak of the mountain, Haku resisted the urge to let out a groan of annoyance. Everything he ended up doing with Naruto ended up being more difficult then it needed to be, why did he, now, of all time, expect otherwise?

"So" began Haku, breaking the silence between the two as the harsh winds of the area sent shivers down their spines. They hadn't yet begun to scale the mountain but they were already fairly high above sea level and this area of Kumo was notoriously cold during this season "what's the plan?" prompted Haku, breaking Naruto out of his train of thoughts.

"Well" he began "obviously we climb the mountain" he answered while Haku just sweat dropped.

"Yes, I figured as much, what else?"

"Well, assuming my information on this summoning contract is correct" began Naruto "and its normally safe to assume my information is always correct, then once we scale the mountain, there should be a cave entrance at the peak where a trial will be awaiting the person who will want to sign and take the summoning contract" he clarified, confusing Haku.

"You make it sound like you're not going to be the one to sign the contract" Haku observed, mirroring Naruto's expression by raising his own eyebrow when he turned to him.

"Of course I'm not going to be signing the contract" he said "I'm no fan of Ninjutsu and the Kuchiyose is one of the strongest Ninjutsu in existence" he clarified to the stupefied Haku "besides, summoning draws too much attention and I really don't need them with my puppets to aid me" he said with a shrug "it will be more beneficial if when we fight as a team that you can control your summons while I control my puppets" he finished, oddly making a lot of sense, which was unusual given that he liked to speak in riddles often.

"Will you at least tell me what kind of species I will be signing a contract with if we obtain said scroll?" Haku asked in a defeated manner.

"Hmm? That would be dragons, I thought I told you that already" Naruto replied absent-mindedly as if he hadn't dropped a bombshell on Haku.

"D-d-dragons?!" stuttered Haku in shock "the summoning of legend?! One of the original summoning species?!" he tried to recall what he knew of the legend of the first summoning contracts in the shinobi world.

"Aa" Naruto confirmed "If we're going to get you a summon, it may as well be one that will only be matched in power by one other contract that even I don't know the location of and I doubt I ever will" he said with a shrug "Phoenixes are much more secretive then dragons were and only appeared to those they were willing to give their services, however, with dragons, they were more interested in having strong summoners, regardless of their beliefs, which is why they didn't really hide themselves all that well" he confessed to the still shell shocked Haku.

"Wait, do you know anything else about the contract? You said the Phoenixes appear to those they wish to sign a contract with? What do dragons do? Just wait for people to come to them?"

Naruto nodded in the affirmative "Well, yes" he conceded "That and there probably will be some fighting involved. The summoning contract itself is considered to be a priceless treasure and from what we all know about dragons, they guard their treasures obsessively. Don't expect it to be easy" all the colour had drained from Haku's face at the declaration. He would have to fight a fucking Dragon?!

"Well, you better get going" Naruto prompted, snapping Haku out of his shock.

"What?"

Naruto, suppressing a grin answered "Well, you didn't honestly expect me to climb that monstrosity of a mountain if I'm not going to be needed to sign the contract or help you face the trials the dragons decide to put you through. I will make camp nearby and wait for you for three days, if you're not back by then, I'm going to assume you became Dragon meat and move on" he said callously causing a twitch to appear on Haku's forehead.

"Don't sound too concerned now" he snapped back irritated.

­

"I thought I was already doing that?" he said, and Haku just opted to ignore him, it made things easier that way. Making sure he had all his rations and taking the food scrolls Naruto carried their food in so he could eat more for extra energy if necessary, he sighed before using his chakra to stick to the edge of the mountain and climbing.

This would be a looong three days…

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A day had passed since Naruto temporarily parted ways with Haku; however, the puppet user was not worried. He knew getting the contract would be dangerous but he had faith in the water manipulator's strength and knew he would persevere, if only to rub it in his face afterwards. Not that he cared.

Naruto decided against sitting around and waiting for his return and opted for visiting the country's local hidden village to gather information on Kumogakure's actions as of late. He didn't specifically need any information at the moment, but it didn't hurt to keep tabs on any an all hidden villages. They may preach about their deeds being just and right, but when it came down to the nitty gritty, every Hidden village was out for themselves and only for themselves, and alliances were merely words written on paper until the usefulness of said alliance came to an end. He knew the viciousness of the Hidden villages first hand and would never, for that reason, put anything past a hidden village to get what they wanted or to protect their best interests.

Kumogakure or the Hidden village in the clouds was one of the true 'Hidden' villages of the shinobi world, them and the newly developed Otogakure. If you hadn't already been to Kumo, you weren't likely going to be able to find it, the simple reason being the thick clouds that surround its walls.

Like its name suggests, the Hidden village in the Clouds was hidden by just that, the clouds atop of Mount Miyabi (made up word, means nothing, roll with it) which were said to produce a natural hallucinogen that disoriented foreigners not expecting it and making them lose their way or forget how they arrived in the hidden village should they accidently happen upon it.

Securing his gas mask to his mouth so he wouldn't breathe in the fumes, which would be especially dangerous to him seeing as his enhanced sense of smell would only serve to aggravate him further, Naruto continued on up the mountain Kumogakure was built on intent on sneaking in unnoticed.

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Haku, with the last of his strength, crawled over the last step of the mountain and toppled over the edge, landing on his back, allowing him to look directly up into the sky. It was a beautiful sight, why was that?

Because he could no longer see any more of this hideous mountain when he looked up, the mere thought of that fact made him want to cry in happiness. Finally, after half an hour of just regaining his breath and some of his strength, he quickly swallowed a soldier pill to replenish his chakra reserved and stood up so he could take a look around.

The top of this mountain was weird to say the least. It was merely a flat surface, as if the tip had been cut off at some point. The whole peak was covered in snow and icicles and the temperature was below freezing point – Haku was just glad he had the foresight to bring extra warm clothes so he wouldn't die of hypothermia before he reached his goal.

Deciding to take a look around, Haku began to search the peak cautiously, turning over every stone he came past so he wouldn't miss any detail that may be vital to the acquisition of the dragon contract – he found what he was looking for.

Before him was not what he expected to see, for directly in the middle of the plateau was a large circular hole, and upon closer inspection, it was clear to see that it was _perfectly _circular, leading Haku to believe that it definitely wasn't a natural hole. Making sure to plant himself firmly on the ice covered ground with his chakra so the harsh winds wouldn't blow him accidently over into the hole and into the unknown, he look down the hole to see…absolutely nothing after a good 50 feet in. Frowning in thought, he observed what he could see in the hole and to his surprise the walls of the perfectly cylindrical vertical tunnel were covered in small sharp crystal looking glaciers, so much so that the original wall was not visible at all – most peculiar.

Deciding on a plan, Haku removed a small rectangular piece of paper from his pouch that was synonymous to one of Naruto's seal tags. This one in particular, after applying chakra to it, will produce a blinding flash of light when it comes in contact with something, thus attaching it to kunai and throwing them was usually the preferred method of activating them.

Tying the tag to the but end of one of the few kunai he carried with him, he took a few steps away from the large hole in the plateau and took a running start before leaping over the hole with a chakra enhanced jump. Once he was directly over the middle of the hole, he performed a flip mid air and tossed the kunai down the hole with as much force as he could and as much accuracy as he could muster, causing the kunai to be projected straight down the direct middle of the hole before he landed on the other side.

­

If Haku was expecting to see a flash immediately, especially given the strength at which he hurled the kunai combined with gravity's natural aid, he was unpleasantly surprised when after two minutes, nothing was seen.

Three minutes passed and still nothing.

Haku was getting worried when after five minutes, there was still no sign of a flash indicating that the kunai had hit something, however, roughly after the six minute mark, there was the tiniest flicker of white light followed by the echo of a very soft yet very distinguishable roar. The thought made him sweat nervously, even though the temperature was many below zero. What if a dragon really was guarding the scroll, would he have to fight it? And how far down was this fucking thing?! Quickly going through what little he knew of mathematics and physics laws, he factored in the speed he threw the kunai at and the natural acceleration provided by the external force of gravity combined with the time it took to make an impact – the results were not good…

This cave lead straight down through the core of the mountain, probably all the way to sea level…but Naruto had told him the distance above sea level they were before he started to climb…doing a quick guesstimate of the vertical height of the mountain and adding it to the original height above sea level Haku finally realized the severity of his current situation.

Whatever colour was still in Haku's face given the freezing cold conditions drained out as the implications sunk in and he couldn't help but feel that Naruto had suspected something like this – for he rarely leapt into any situation as blindfolded as he seemed.

Realizing that his task had barely even begin and he had already wasted a third of his time, Haku looked down the seemingly bottomless pit before him and summed up the situation in one eloquent word and released his frustrations in said word also.

"FUCK!"

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From his vintage point atop of one of Kumogakure's tallest buildings, Naruto's head snapped to the tallest mountain in the region that he left Haku at which was still quite visible from this village. He could have sworn his sensitive ears had picked up someone screaming.

Frowning and only quickly hoping that nothing had happened to his travelling companion, he continued on with his current task. It would be incredibly boring after all, if his travelling companion got himself killed.

Naruto had made contact with his 'contact' within Kumogakure earlier and wasn't surprised to learn nothing really new from the Raikage's right hand man Kasumi Renbu. Apparently, they still held the fruitless dream of somehow acquiring the Byakugan from Konoha by either capturing a Hyuuga main house member or learning its secrets by getting a branch house member of the Hyuuga clan to defect to Kumo, one of the poorly treated ones. Naruto had to agree that the second plan held merit but what good would it do? The Hyuuga were great at Taijutsu, of that there's no doubt, but the style is so easily countered with long range fighting and clever Ninjutsu use that it's pointless to divert so many resources to such a cause – perhaps they were more interested in breeding their own Hyuuga clan in Kumo, who knew? Certainly not Renbu-san.

One thing that had interested him was the continuing training of Kumo's weapon and soon to be strongest shinobi. Normally such a thing wouldn't interest him because he doubted that Kumo had the resources to produce a shinobi that would trouble him at all, let alone one that would even _want_ to cause him trouble, but this certain individual had something in common with Naruto – she was a Jinchuuriki.

Nii Yugito seemed to have inherited some of her jailor's traits, he thought with amusement. Her eyes were very much slanted and cat like as well as her movements, which were very graceful and precise – much like that of a feline predator; something that was expected of the Jinchuuriki of the Nibi no Nekomata. Naruto didn't know much about the demon cat, which bothered him, except for the fact that it had the ability to surround itself in and breath out molten hot fire, much like the legends said it could.

Yugito's feline like behaviour and features lead Naruto to believe that instead of training her to harness the excess chakra she would have and the abilities being the Jinchuuriki of the Nibi no Nekomata would give, the Raikage and his shinobi had decided on having the girl harness the demonic chakra itself and try to control it.

How foolish.

Not only was it extremely arrogant to believe a human could control a great demon's power, but it is pretty much impossible and detrimental to her growth to do so. Much like a bloodline one relies on too much, if the girl grows to rely on the demon's chakra, it could do something very 'demon' like and refuse her access, not to mention the irreparable damage it would cause to her body, thus shortening her lifespan in the long run. Sasori had told him about the negative effects of using and relying on a bijou's chakra like other Jinchuuriki may do and they both agreed that ­

he would become strong without relying on the fox. Taking the Kyuubi's eyes and senses was merely penance for the harder then normal time he had controlling his chakra and growing up, though he didn't really rely much on his newly formed bloodline anyway, preferring to use it for infiltration and information gathering.

Much like now.

It was unfortunate for Yugito that Naruto had the need to observe her while in Kumo and that she decided to take a dip in the hot springs while he needed to do his observing.

It wasn't his fault, not at all; he was observing her before she started her bath.

Him continuing to observe her and invade her privacy was the payment he took for her boring him with her daily activities.

That was it.

He wasn't a pervert.

Much.

Well, maybe he was. However, at least he was able to ascertain that the Nibi's influence was definitely having an affect on her physical maturing, for no one a year older then him should have breasts that big – he could understand the need for her to wear chest bindings. Perhaps the Nibi was a pervert and purposefully enhanced her physical maturing for its own amusement? He didn't much care, but by looking at her body, which would rival some of the faux women in Jiraiya-sama's work, he was sure that any male that was able to tame the cat-like woman would definitely not be disappointed.

Pity he wasn't a fan of blondes.

Except for himself.

His hair was awesome.

And he definitely wasn't vain.

He was stating fact – he took it as a personal ego boost when fair maidens would look at his tanned features and golden hair and blush before looking away.

Or even better, stutter out something before quickly leaving to 'relieve' themselves of their tension.

Ever since he came to understand the finer points in life, such as the sexual aspects from Jiraiya-sama's books, people might think he had become a pervert. That was only partly true.

He did enjoy reading the wonderful literature, and who wouldn't? It was very well written…

…and illustrated.

Naruto had no interest in 'getting into some girl's panties' though, it was merely amusing to him to observe other female's reactions towards his person or toy with their feelings, under the guise of innocence of course – he couldn't have any woman going all 'female rights activist' on him, he was out of aspirin after all. Some may see it as cruel, but he didn't care – he found it funny and no one ever said he had a normal sense of humour.

He admonished himself for getting lost in his thoughts like he had, for, while he had let his attention slip, his target had disappeared. His ear then twitched when a soft sound alerted him to someone's presence behind him – so soft in fact that were it not for his enhanced senses, he would have never heard it.

He had barely heard it with them.

"Salutations Yugito-san" greeted Naruto without turning around "I take it you enjoyed your bath?"

Naruto almost did a double take when he heard a very cat like hiss coming from behind him and on instinct, he tilted his head to the right as a kunai came flying passed where his head just was a mere second ago.

"That wasn't very polite" Naruto admonished "I was merely greeting you"

­

"And being a dirty pervert" she said from behind him, closer then he had thought she was, her stealth was better then he thought, however cats were known for being good at stealth so he shouldn't be surprised "you're not from here, what is your purpose in Kumogakure? Are you with those people with the black cloaks with red clouds on them?" she asked with venom in her voice, however Naruto ignored it. _That_ was an interesting piece of information he had received by coming here, he knew he hadn't wasted his time.

"Hmm, been paid a visit by Akatsuki then?" he asked rhetorically "Interesting"

"What's interesting will be the smell of your innards when I spill them all over this roof for spying on me" she said, quickly moving her arm around his neck, placing him in a choke hold and holding a sharp kunai at his nether regions.

"That's disgusting"

Yugito was caught off guard by his deadpanned response, and recalling what she had just said she had the good graces to flush in embarrassment – it was quite disgusting when she thought about it.

"I find it interesting that you would call me a pervert, yet, you are the one invading my personal space with naught by a towel separating your body form my own"

Yugito's blush deepened when she realized she had to concede another point, but then righteous indignation rose up in her. How dare he try to turn the tables on her!? He was the one perving on her to begin with!

As if reading her thoughts, Naruto spoke again "I was not 'peeping' on you Yugito-san, and though I did come to the realization that your bijou must have had an affect on your physical maturation…" he didn't notice the mortified look on Yugito's face when he callously spoke of her massive bust "I was merely observing the daily activities of Kumo's new weapon" he said with a shrug, still not bothered about how Yugito was holding him or the closeness of a certain pointy object to his groin.

"What do you want?" Yugito asked through gritted teeth.

"World peace"

Yugito flushed again, this time in both embarrassment and anger "What do you want in Kumogakure?!" she asked again, pressing the kunai dangerously close to what makes a man a man.

"Passing the time" he answered indifferently "though I seem to have found something that has piqued my interests now that I'm here, Jinchuuriki of Nibi no Nekomata."

Yugito was stunned at how a foreigner could know that she held a demon within her; that was a secret that only the higher ups of Kumo knew. For a foreigner to know she was its container, let alone that Kumo even _had_ a Jinchuuriki means that he was a spy or he had a very developed spy network.

Naruto, taking advantage of his captor's stunned silence spun around in her grip and quickly positioned himself with his back to her right shoulder before raising his right leg up as high as he could and wrapping it around her neck before using his weight to drop both her and himself down to the ground, his powerful thigh still hovering over her neck while he looked into her eyes with complete apathy.

"Somewhat embarrassing for the supposed weapon of Kumogakure" he drawled, however he noticed Yugito beginning to draw upon the Nekomata's chakra which was bad for many reasons. One, it would alert her minders to her state of distress as well as blowing his cover. Whipping out a piece of paper, he slapped a suppressor seal on Yugito's forehead and watched with satisfaction as the Nibi's chakra receded back into its seal.

Yugito was scared for the first time in a long time – this boy before her was able to immobilize her with one swift move and the application of a strange seal to her forehead which stopped her from drawing on her tenant's chakra.

"You will forever remain weak if you rely on the powers of your bijou" he said in a deadly tone that Yugito couldn't help but heed.

"What the hell would you know?" snarled Yugito, her cat like eyes narrowing "the power of the bijou is well beyond anything a mortal could attain, even if it is only the Nibi. If you hadn't caught me by surprise, you would have stood no chance against me!"

Naruto shrugged "Only partly correct" he conceded "I wouldn't stand much of a chance in mortal combat against the full powers of a bijou, you however, are not a bijou and are weak by yourself" he said, infuriating his captive further, however, before she could reply, he continued "and then you ask how I could possibly know about relying on a bijou's ­

powers?" he asked as he slowly removed his straw hat that had been obscuring his eyes, allowing Yugito to fully see his facial features including his whisker marks but most importantly, his slitted crimson eyes.

"I am the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, I understand more then you could ever know about not relying on my demon's powers" he revealed, shocking Yugito to her core for a number of reasons. Firstly because she had read about this criminal who had recently been added to Konoha's version of the Bingo book, Namikaze Naruto, Jinchuuriki but most importantly, son of Kumo's and Iwa's mortal enemy, Namikaze Minato, Yondaime Hokage.

"I see my reputation proceeds me" he conceded, seeing the hate in his captive's eyes "your hate is illogical and childish though I must say."

"Illogical and childish?! Your father was a monster! You should die to repent for his sins!" she hissed out, not unlike a feline once again.

"Oh?" Naruto replied with amusement before his crimson eyes flashed in anger "Yes, my father killed countless Iwa and Kumo shinobi, but it was a war, and in war, people die, besides, that is all village politics, I have no interest in such things" he said in a cold and ruthless way "besides, you call my father a monster yet all he did was kill his enemies; was it not Iwa and Kumo who instigated the war by systematically attacking single Genin teams with their Jounin senseis by overwhelming them with numbers?"

Yugito bit her tongue to stop her retort, he was right after all. They had started the war because Kumo and Iwa feared the power Konoha was obtaining with the addition of the Sannin their growing number sand clients, so they had started cutting off their future talent by removing their Genin teams. With less Genin, Konoha would lose future talented shinobi and would lose power, though what else could Kumo do? They were desperate and were on the brink of poverty due to their clients going to Konoha!

"Now, if you're done acting like an idiot" scolded Naruto, much to Yugito's chagrin "I advise you to increase your own power and not utilize the Nibi's chakra, it will only make you weak and reliant on a chakra that can easily be neutralized, as I have shown you" he said, pointing towards the seal he placed on her "these seals are not exactly easy to make, however anyone versed in Fuuinjutsu could replicate them" he said, much to Yugito's shock.

Naruto then peered into her eyes and Yugito, for reasons she couldn't explain, couldn't help but look back and with a flash of his eyes, Yugito froze in pure terror as her body was paralysed! How could she be so stupid?! It said in the bingo book as a strategy against him to NOT look into his eyes due to his impressive skills in Genjutsu.

Naruto knelt down beside her and began removing the towel that was wrapped around Yugito to reveal her naked body to him, though he didn't seem to notice – that didn't mean that Yugito wasn't scared of the implications.

"No" she said, nearly sobbing "don't do this, I'm sorry, just don't do this. You're father isn't a monster, I was wrong, you were right, just don't do this…please" she said, bordering on hysterical now.

With a sigh, Naruto rubbed his temple in annoyance before he looked into her eyes with a glare "Be quiet, I am only looking for your seal you fool!"

Yugito promptly shut up and then glared at her captor, righteous indignation flaring up within her "You could have asked and not just stripped me you pervert!"

Naruto was not paying attention though as he found the seal on her navel also and traced his fingers around the intricate designs. The seal was much more powerful then Gaara's was but it wasn't even close to containing the demon, it still allowed a minor amount of the demon's influence to affect the host. Glad that he had the foresight to place the suppressant seal on her, he removed a pot and ink brush from a scroll on his belt and, still ignoring the now blushing Yugito's cries of protest, began to paint more seals around the original seal.

The Nibi seemed to be sealed with two separate variants of the five point elemental seal, the elements running in opposite order on each one along with a controlling seal to allow Yugito to call upon the demon's powers; however, the seal was created poorly and with lack of foresight. The seal worked like a two way street allowing Yugito a measure of control over her demon and the demon a measure of control over her host and seeing as how the demon had much more power, it could much more easily exert its control when it wanted.

Yugito, figuring protesting was pointless and reluctantly agreeing that he wasn't being perverted – which served to disappoint her slightly, what, he thought he was too good for her?! – Just watched Naruto work, mesmerized, as he painted a third seal over her old seal with expert ease. She had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop from giggling, the brush doing the small and quick strokes on her stomach was tickling her, but she didn't want to _giggle_ of all things in front of the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki so she held it in.

"I am placing a third five point elemental seal with a slight modification over your seal" he explained, he found it easier to concentrate on making an effective seal if he talked through it either in his mind or out loud as he did it, it helped with his concentration "think of your current seal as a two way road with each two separate beings on each end ­

of the roads, you and the Nibi" Yugito listened intently as he explained how her seal worked as the Raikage never felt the need to do so "in one lane of the road, you have the Nibi's chakra constantly flowing along it into your body and into your reserves and in the other lane your chakra goes into the seal or the Nibi to enforce the seal, however, you don't feel the drain of your chakra because the Nibi's chakra more then replenishes whatever chakra you use to enforce the seal; an excellent idea in theory, but it didn't' factor in one thing, and that thing is the reluctance of any demon to remain imprisoned" he explained, to Yugito's shock.

"The Nibi could use this connection between you two to influence your personality and even your body in extreme cases, like when you lose consciousness" Yugito felt a sense of dread fill her as he continued to explain. It made sense, and it would definitely explain her 'cat' like personality and looks "what my seal will do is act as the go between for the two 'lanes' so that the chakra from the Nibi and the chakra provided to reinforce the seal will have to go through it before going to its destination, and the seal is designed to not allow the demon to have any influence over this process" he said, amazing Yugito at the simplicity yet effectiveness of the Fuuinjutsu.

"This may hurt a little bit" before Yugito could register what he had said, Naruto struck.

"FUIN!"

Pain engulfed Yugito in torrents, unbearable pain. It felt like her insides were burning or as if something within her was protesting what exactly was happening to her. She could literally feel the chakra flowing within her and changing something, she just wasn't sure what.

As quickly as it came, the pain was gone, leaving Yugito a panting mess on the floor while Naruto stood several feet away watching how the girl would react to the new seal placed on her.

"How do you feel?" he inquired, honestly interested.

Yugito frowned in thought before 'looking' within herself and noticing that suddenly, her chakra felt more…controllable…cooperative? It was hard to explain but the feeling was magnificent, she had never felt so in control of anything in her life, and yet, in the span of a few moments, a fellow Jinchuuriki granted her that.

"Good…" she replied, unsure of why he was doing this for her.

Naruto nodded and looked off into the distance, seemingly listening for something before turning back to Yugito "It seems someone felt that chakra spike, we will have visitors soon" he said "grow strong without the power of the bijou for there is a threat to people like us on the horizon called Akatsuki, you described them earlier to me, they are after the bijou within us and will surely have a way to fight you if you use the bijou's power" he paused, making sure she heard him "You will still have traits of the demon within you, for example, an usual affinity for fire type techniques or enhances senses, it doesn't matter, but you will need to train, and train hard, you don't have much time…"

Naruto grinned down at her, but before he was about to leave, he grinned "You might want to cover up before your minders get here" and just like that, he disappeared in a gust of wind.

Yugito realized what he was talking about as she was still naked as the day she was born. Blushing in embarrassment at having to be revealed to him like that, she grabbed her discarded towel and hiked it back to the springs were her clothes were, she'd be damned if some random Jounin got to see her naked.

'_Namikaze Naruto, huh?'_ she thought with a smirk _'I'm going to train hard and the next time we meet, I'm gonna kick your ass for being so perverted'_

Regardless of her less then sane thoughts of torturing her fellow Jinchuuriki, she failed to notice a true smile on her face, one of the likes no one had seen on her face in a very long time.

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Haku let out a triumphant when his feet finally came in contact with a solid floor. It had taken him nearly a whole day to descend to the bottom of the seemingly never ending tunnel, but doing so did have its perks.

At first, he had no idea how he was supposed to get to the bottom as all the walls were lined with sharp and deadly icicles – icicles that couldn't be clung to with chakra, so the only foreseeable way down would be to jump down and hope you didn't die from the ridiculously long fall, which also wasn't an option.

It had taken him an hour or so of testing, but he finally hade created a technique with the use of his bloodline that allowed him to not only descend at a quick pace, but it allowed him to also fly, if need be.

­

What he had done was gathered the water from the molecules in the air and used it to create a thin sheet of tightly compressed water in a rectangular shape; he then used his bloodline's abilities to turn the water into rock hard ice so he wouldn't have to concentrate on keeping the water's form. From there, all he had to do was manipulate the heavy duty sheet of ice in mid air while he used chakra control techniques to remain standing on it.

Looking back on it, he was incredibly proud of himself for creating such a useful supplementary technique with his bloodline and while it was wonderful for descending down seemingly endless tunnels, it was also useful if he wanted to travel long distances through the air or simply fly.

Now that he had recovered his bearings, he swallowed another soldier pill to replenish his chakra reserves while taking a look around the cave he was now in. The cave itself was a large cavern with a small island platform in the middle of it surrounded by water which, from the smell, seemed to be fresh water indicating that the water source came from a nearby lake on the outside. The island only had one exit and that was to follow the thin walkway that led off of it and into another small tunnel that seemed to illuminate with a pale blue light. The cavern's walls, much like the vertical shaft's walls, were inlaid with crystal like icicles which, when reflecting the light from the fire torches surrounding the platform and walkway, flowed with an ethereal light.

Haku, taking out two kunai, his last two kunai, held them in a defensive stance and followed the only possible path he could take. As he was walking over the two meter wide walkway, he dared to peek over the edge of the walkway into the water to see, to his delight, that the water was crystal clear, so clear in fact that it was as if there were no laws of refraction hindering his sight of what lay below the water's surface.

As he continued to walk, he crossed the bridge like walkway and entered another large cavern covered in more and larger icicles that glimmered beautifully from the light provided by the several torches giving the room light.

As he walked further into the room, he spun around quickly in a defensive stance when he heard a snort or sorts and continued soft breathing. Now, completely on edge, not knowing what would make such noises so far down below the mountain, he followed the noises around a corner of icicles in the room into a 'clearing' of sorts to set his eyes on something he definitely did not expect to see.

There, lazing about on the floor curled up in all of its glory was a large azure coloured…dragon that covered its body with its huge scaly wings. The dragon seemed to have an incredibly long tail which also wrapped around its body with a large head covered in curved cream coloured horns; its razor sharp teeth were each on average the length of one of his arms and were randomly sticking out of its mouth, even though its mouth was closed. If there was one word he would use to describe the monster before him, it would definitely be huge – the thing took up majority of the clearing and its head was the size of an elephant, easy.

"Welcome mortal" it began in a rumbling voice that shook the caverns "it has been eons since I have seen one of your kind, speak and speak well less you want to be the meal I have been deprived of for so long."

Haku, gathering up his courage, readied himself to speak to the mighty dragon, mentally wondering how he would beat the crap out of Naruto for putting him in this position.

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Naruto sat lazily reading through one of his personal scrolls at the location he agreed to meet Haku at in a few hours time, trying to ignore the person who insisted on trying to hide from his incredible senses. Honestly, he was labelled an 'S-classed' criminal, one would think that such a label would grant him some sort of power over lesser shinobi and stop them spying on him and attacking him, but no, he was a kid after all and that was simply ignored.

Being underestimated was one of the best weapons a shinobi could use, but he couldn't help but feel miffed at the fact that his skills weren't respected. Sure, Uchiha Itachi kills off his family with the use of those annoying eyes of his and immediately, he is feared throughout the land, but he, who mastered the art of puppetry, Genjutsu and Fuuinjutsu was merely seen as an easy kill and massive bounty. He would be lying if he said it wasn't slightly annoying. He couldn't argue with the constant supply of puppets though, he would always need replacement bodies to replace his destroyed puppets, better them then his more important and powerful puppets getting destroyed anyway, so he really shouldn't be complaining.

Finally deciding he couldn't concentrate, especially when the scent of his observer was assaulting his senses constantly, he rolled up his scroll and put it away before calling out to the clearing.

"Jiraiya-sama, perhaps it would be best if you came out yourself and asked me anything you find it necessary to spy on me for to discover."

Somewhat annoyed, Jiraiya appeared in the clearing with a Shunshin with a pout on his face "How did you know I was there?"

­

"I was just thinking how annoying it was that people continued to underestimate me, though I can't complain too much for if you were a lesser shinobi, I could have killed you without much effort on my part" and to prove his point, a dozen poison laced senbon launched out from behind the closest rock formation revealing Naruto to be controlling a puppet. Jiraiya simply sidestepped the projectiles as they harmlessly impacted on a tree on the opposite side of the clearing, though he did allow his eyes to widen slightly when he noticed the effect the senbon had on the tree. The section they hit seemed to wither and die.

"As for your question" he said, now looking at Jiraiya from beneath the shade of his straw hat "you reek heavily of sake and…latex" he finished with a wince at the implications of the second scent. Jiraiya's face was blank for a few moments before he giggled perversely and tucked something in his pocket further, as if protecting whatever was hidden within.

When Jiraiya still saw Naruto calmly observing him, his face turned stern "I was spying on you to hopefully discover your intentions towards your mother, you know I can't let you harm her."

Naruto just raised an eyebrow and Jiraiya felt a shiver go down his spine at the sight of the smirk that crossed his features "Jiraiya-san, I assure you that I only harbour honourable intentions towards Kushina-san and will have her home by midnight" Jiraiya didn't miss how Naruto addressed his mother, though he couldn't help but feel annoyed at how he twisted his words.

"Are you going to hurt her gaki?" he asked, all playfulness that one would normally hear in his voice gone "because if you are, I can't let you do that and regardless of who's son you are, I will have to kill you" he said in warning.

If Naruto was affected by the threat, he didn't show it "Asking me outright if I am going to hurt someone is probably not the best way to discover my intentions towards them" he conceded, evading the question "regardless, I wouldn't tell you of my intentions no matter how you asked them so I guess the manner in which you ask is a moot point."

"Are you looking for her?" Jiraiya pressed, needing to know how safe his favourite apprentice's wife was.

"I don't have to" Naruto simply answered, though Jiraiya was suspicious of the answer, it could mean a lot of things.

"Are you looking for her?"

"I am not looking for Uzumaki Kushina" he answered, thinking that a shinobi constantly on his back, especially one of his skill level, would be a bad thing. He seemed to harbour no ill will towards him unless he admitted to wanting to harm his mother, so he used that to his advantage.

Jiraiya however, frowned at his answer, Tsunade's theory sounding more and more plausible by the minute, though he didn't think that revealing that they knew such a thing would be in his best interests. Besides, the boy might be able to complete the task he had been failing at for so long – he may have a spy network that rivalled none, but the boy's resourcefulness seemed to know no bounds.

Jiraiya eyed the boy for a few moments longer, who didn't even so much as fidget under his gaze.

"How did you like the newest volume of 'Icha Icha'?" he asked and it was such a random question that it almost caught Naruto off guard,

"I enjoyed the scene with the two nurses checking on Shinji-san's injuries in a more then enthusiastic manner, that and the sex, the sex was good" Naruto answered truthfully, eliciting a perverted grin from the author of said books. Jiraiya then proceeded to pull out of his pouch a wrapped edition of 'Icha Icha', personally signed by the author himself, and on closer inspection, Naruto realized that it was the next edition, yet to be released to stores. Naruto immediately understood the implications of such actions.

"Kumo are training their Jinchuuriki to be a weapon by having her harness and use the youki of the Nekomata much the same as Gaara-san used the youki of the Shukaku."

Jiraiya nodded and tossed the book to Naruto, who greedily pocketed the piece of literature, to be read at a later date.

"What did you do about it? I hardly think you would have let such a thing slide, especially what you did for Gaara-san's seal."

Naruto tilted his head slightly and Jiraiya let out a sigh before wracking his brain for a few moments, finally, he decided on something "The Sanbi and the Yonbi have both been captured by Akatsuki. The Sanbi sealed away in its full form of a three tailed demonic turtle and the Yonbi's Jinchuuriki having been captured and killed in removing the demon from him."

­

Naruto nodded curtly, silently cursing himself for not being quicker in securing the Sanbi and Yonbi. He had foolishly thought that he had gained Akatsuki's full attention by securing the bijou and having in possession one of their rings, but it seemed that they were leaving him alone for now and obtaining as many of the others as possible. His plans would need to be sped up if he wanted to stop Akatsuki.

"I further sealed away the Nibi and cut the influence that the Nekomata seemed to exude over her" he began "I also may have suggested that she not rely on her bijou's youki to become strong if she didn't want to die" he answered, satisfying the Gama Sannin.

"I was going to do something similar, though it seems you are the better when it comes to seals – must run in the family" he said with a grin.

"Hn" he replied with a grunt, though inwardly, if he was honest with himself, he was glad for once to be affiliated with his father. The man was one of the greatest shinobi that ever existed.

Before Jiraiya could pick up conversation, Naruto beat him to it.

"About time, I was starting to think he was slipping."

Jiraiya was about to ask what the hell the gaki was on about when the clearing they were standing in was covered in a huge shadow. Getting worried, Jiraiya slowly turned around only to meet a sight that nearly made him shriek in shock, for coming down at them at incredible speeds was a massive azure coloured dragon that seemed to have someone sitting on its neck.

Fifty feet before the dragon came in contact with the ground, it spread its wings wide causing it to immediately halt in mid air, allowing Haku to jump off the mighty beast and land on the ground.

"Thank you Azuregos"

The huge dragon nodded and let out a snort, causing freezing cold air to shoot out of its nostrils "Make sure to summon Master Malygos outside of battle before asking for his assistance in combat" he advised in a deep rumbling voice that could be heard for miles "that last contract holder ignored this and was promptly disposed off as penance after the fight Malygos was called for was done with."

With a gulp, Haku nodded as Azuregos vanished in a large puff of smoke leaving a gaping Jiraiya and a satisfied Naruto.

"At least you didn't get eaten" he commented callously.

"YOU!"

Jiraiya jumped when Haku levelled a heated glare in Naruto's direction - whom didn't seem affected by it in the slightest.

"You KNEW that the dragon would be at the base of the mountain and not at the top!" he accused with anger in his voice at Naruto who began to walk away.

"I might have had an inkling Haku-chan" the sound of his name being said like that only served to increase his anger.

"Did you KNOW there was going to be a dragon there waiting for me?!"

"It was definitely a possibility Haku-chan" he replied, humour laced in his voice.

"Argh!" Haku screamed, letting out a yell of frustration "I could have been eaten!"

"Highly unlikely" replied Naruto "Dragon's don't like to eat females, they instead, keep them as slaves – I can sympathise, everyone could use a good slave."

"I'm not a girl!"

"You like boys though"

"No I don't!" Haku denied.

­

"I have yet to see evidence to the contrary, you go on dates with boys, you frequently dress as a girl, you have a vagina…"

"I DON'T have a VAGINA!"

"Yet you didn't deny the fact that you go on dates with boys and dress as a girl"

"You made me go on that date!"

"Wait" interrupted Jiraiya "he really did go on a date with a boy?"

"Enjoyed it too" answered Naruto "his name was Inuzuka Kiba, I didn't like him though, he didn't treat Haku-chan with respect, tried to deny his feelings and his sexuality when met with the scrutinizing stares of the public eye."

"What is _he_ doing here? and YOU MADE ME DO IT!"

"Lying to yourself won't change the facts Haku-chan and Jiraiya-san merely dropped in for a visit" he answered, further infuriating Naruto.

"Wait, he didn't deny dressing as a girl either" interrupted Jiraiya, helpfully, once again.

"He does it often when we are to be seen in public or on information gathering missions, he says it's the perfect disguise, I tend to agree because being a girl he is able to seduce idiot males such as yourself into giving up information."

His declaration was met with two indignant replies for two different reasons.

"I can prove I am a boy and I like girls!" blurted out Haku and before thinking about what he was saying, he continued "Temari-chan from the Suna Genin team has to be the most beautiful girl I have ever seen…she had the most wonderful and caring personality too…" he said, trailing off with a dreamy smile.

Jiraiya and Naruto turned to look at Haku, one with disbelief written all over his face and the other with amusement "You intend to convince me of your heterosexuality by declaring your love with possibly the most brutish female on the planet?"

"Naruto!" he barked "take that back, Temari-chan is the epitome of what a beautiful woman should be, none of that dieting nonsense you see so many young girls doing these days giving them stick figures" Haku said calmly and also with passion,

"So you love a fat chick?" Jiraiya helpfully added, eliciting a snort of amusement from Naruto and a death glare from Haku.

"She looks better then any of the girls in any of your perverted books!"

"When have you read 'Icha Icha'?" asked an interested Naruto.

"Err, I, umm, that is…"

"It doesn't matter, you still haven't convinced me of your sexuality and falling in love with such a boyish girl such as Temari-san merely proves it" he said with a shrug.

Seeing Haku go for his senbon and not really feeling like dodging senbon laced with his own poisons for hours, Naruto decided that a retreat was in order.

"I am going to have to cut out little gathering short Jiraiya-sama, Ja ne!"

"Get back here Naruto!"

As both disappeared using Shunshin, Jiraiya's grin turned into a serious frown.

'_They could definitely be a threat to Konoha if we provoke them…who would have thought that the Dragon summoning contract actually existed…'_

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Author's note:

Sorry for the long wait, but I hope I compensated with an extra long chapter.

I also would like to point out that I really don't think what I wrote about Temari, she's mad hot, but Haku needs to be teased and she IS somewhat brutish when angered, slinging a huge metallic object around and what not.

I didn't go into detail with the dragon and Haku because Azuregos isn't the boss; I might write Haku's confrontation with the boss summon or a might not. Also, kudos to those who recognize the names of the dragons I used.

I'm thinking of starting my Harry Potter fic while I write this one, mainly because I want to get more details from the manga especially in regards to the Rinnegan and Akatsuki's as well as Jiraiya's abilities, I mean seriously 'Two hermit mode' lol, that looks funny.

Tayuya is not his sister. I base a lot of the information in this fic from the manga; people who base it solely on the show won't know who his sister is. That should be enough for the manga readers to know who it is, I probably will be changing her personality only SLIGHTLY to suit my needs, like why she remained where she was found in the manga for so long and what not.

Adios.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Balance

Chapter 15: Balance

A shinobi, whose features were carefully obscured by a large straw hat and a high collar cloak, walked out of a building carrying three duffle bags filled to the brim. The building he exited, along with its surrounding buildings were all of unique and curious design. Where normally one would expect buildings to be made of concrete, wood, brick, or a combination of the three, these buildings were built from large, sturdy rock slabs mined from the land the village was built on.

All of the buildings in Iwagakure were built this way, for in earth country, rocks such as these were in abundance.

The shinobi almost found it laughable how easily he could walk in and out of the village to conduct his business without interference. First, he visited his spy (he idly wondered if he really could be considered a spy if he had no say in the matter) to gather any new information regarding the new Rokudaime Tsuchikage and any plans she had for her forces in the future.

His second and last order of business was to collect the bounty on six of Iwa's missing-nin, according to their latest bingo book, whose heads he had brought with him in a scroll.

He did all of this while carefully hiding his physical appearance, not wanting his easily noticeable features to be recognized and thus cause an incident; he was, after all, on the front page of Konoha's bingo book as an 'S-classed' criminal.

That and his golden hair and physical features were eerily similar to his father's, Namikaze Minato, a man whose name was uttered like a curse in Iwagakure.

They didn't like him too much.

Having your shinobi population cut by forty percent in the span of a few months during a war all because of one man's participation would do that. Especially if said man's participation resulting in the turning of the tables and ultimate victory for the Konoha forces during said war.

It was understandable that Iwagakure would hold a grudge against the man, and anyone related to him.

He had hoped, due to the connection Uzumaki Kushina had with his father, they would have wanted to keep tabs on her, or worse, have had her in their custody – worse because he doubted he could get any information form her if that were the case.

Unfortunately, things weren't so simple. Not only had his 'contact' in Iwa had no idea or any clues to the whereabouts of the woman, they didn't even know Namikaze Minato _had_ a wife.

How very ignorant of them.

"I don't know why you keep collecting bounties, the money alone you 'confiscated' from Gato would be enough to last for fifty generations, if not more…" said a voice from all around him. He was now outside the village, having used a subtle Genjutsu to divert attention away from himself so he could pass the gates without notice.

The source of the voice became clear when a glacier shot up out of the ground before him at lightning quick speeds before it shattered into thousands of glistening icicle sparkles revealing Haku, his mask covering his face and his hair tied at the back with his bangs hanging over his masked face.

With a raised eyebrow, the shinobi commented on the scene "I see you've been practising."

Haku ducked his head somewhat, in what he guessed to be embarrassment "Azuregos-sama has been helping me harness my bloodline, he has been helpful" he agreed.

"I thought your bloodline was to manipulate water?" asked Naruto with confusion, after setting the duffle bags down "you seem to prefer focusing on cooling the water you control instead of heating it…" he commented, trailing off.

Haku tilted his head to the side in confusion "You suggest I try heating it then? How useful could that be?" he asked, warily, he didn't like looking incompetent in front of Naruto, especially in regards to something he really should know more about then he does "I already know how to use the Kirigakure no jutsu, so how useful could steam be?"

It was Naruto's turn to tilt his head to the side in confusion, though his was more an amused confusion then Haku's. Tossing his hat to the side and unbuttoning the front of his cloak he quickly flashed through some seals, too quick for Haku to follow, before inhaling deep.

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What happened next caused Haku's eyes to widen to the size of dinner plates behind his mask, for from Naruto's mouth emerged a high pressure column of steam that launched itself at the large rock he aimed it at, causing a huge explosion.

When the dust cleared, all that was left of the rock and several of the rocks behind it was several dozen chunks of overheated rocks that were radiating so much heat that Haku broke out into a sweat.

"What was that?!" Haku asked, pointing at the remains of the several large boulders "I thought you didn't like Ninjutsu!" Haku accused.

Naruto shrugged "I don't" he admitted "Ninjutsu is a waste of chakra when you can just as easily kill someone with a kunai" he said with a pause before continuing "and that was a Ninjutsu I invented in the hopes of making a hot spring one day, I just added more chakra to it" he admitted with a small grin "it combines the Katon and Suiton elements to create a high pressure, super-heated steam cannon that has power and burning capabilities" he explained, while collecting his hat and fetching a stick of Pocky, banana flavour "what?"

Haku was staring at Naruto, at a loss for words, before shaking his head in annoyance "It has its uses, I will admit, but I prefer freezing, it is more subtle" he said "not to mention that by freezing people, I slow them down allowing you to poisoning your opponents much more easily."

Naruto nodded sagely, conceding the point "I _do_ like poisoning people" he pointed out.

Haku shuddered at the memory of some of Naruto's more…ingenious…concoctions. He really did like his poisons.

"Did you find out anything of interest?" Haku asked, trying to change the subject to something less disturbing.

"Nothing new in regards to Iwa, but I did happen upon some…interesting information" he admitted "Uchiha Sasuke has fled from Konoha yesterday towards Otogakure" he informed his partner.

"How is that interesting? Do you want to stop him to gain favour with Konoha?"

Haku looked at Naruto with confusion when the boy just looked at him like he was crazy.

"Right, then how is that information useful to us?"

"On it's own it isn't" Naruto admitted "however, it gives our enemies something to keep them occupied while we go to meet someone right under the Snake sannin's nose" he commented while storing his newly acquired cash into scrolls.

"Who are we meeting exactly?" Haku asked "And why, pray tell, are we meeting anyone located anywhere near Orochimaru or someone that has any affiliations with the man" Haku questioned.

"What did you learn of Tuberculosis from the scroll I gave you?" Naruto asked, in a weird change of subject.

"Other then over a third of the world's population has been exposed to it in some way and that it can easily become fatal? Why do you want to know?" he asked, curious.

Annoyed at the constant questions, Naruto answered, if only to shut him up "I am in need of someone who has the skills to cure said disease" he said, no signs of his annoyance showing in his features or speech.

"It took a while" Haku began "but I did find a way to cure it, I'm just glad that I didn't waste all that time learning how to cure it for nothing" he said, his voice sounding cheerful "I expected something like this to be honest."

Naruto nodded "We are going to be meeting with somebody who has been mistreated in a way similar to you and has this disease" Naruto explained "we are going to persuade him to join us by healing him."

"Fair enough, but who is he?" Haku pressed.

"He" Naruto began "is the sole remaining survivor of the Kaguya clan, and thus, the only person alive that can use the Shikotsumyaku bloodline" he trailed off, noticing with interest how Haku's head snapped up at the mention of his clan.

"His name is Kaguya Kimimaro" he revealed "and he is being used by Orochimaru."

Haku slowly removed his mask and looked at his feet, his fists clenched tightly by his sides. Naruto continued to observe him as he started to tremble before taking a deep breath and calming down.

­

"I've met him before…" Haku began, to Naruto's surprise, though he suspected that he shouldn't have been so shocked, especially when they both came from Kirigakure and both had bloodlines.

"It was when Zabuza-san...found me" Naruto listened as Haku began to tell his story "we were leaving Kirigakure using some attack on the village as our cover when we encountered… him. His eyes…they were just like mine before Zabuza-san found me" Naruto noticed with interest how Haku, as of late, didn't refer to his late sensei with as much reverence as he used to.

"He asked us if we were from Kirigakure, when we said no, he apologised and left us alone, but those eyes…it was like he had no idea what his purpose was in life…the pain and suffering he must have gone through must have been surreal…he was older then me at the time…but still so young…"

"His respect for his new master completely dwarfs whatever respect you had for Zabuza" Naruto cut in "it is borderline fanatical, which will be hard to break" Naruto conceded "however, as always, I have a plan around that, all you need to do is make sure you can heal him otherwise he's useless" he paused "from the reports I have 'gathered', his condition is severe; not only has it infected his lungs, but his joints also. His bloodline's ability to increase the regeneration of his bone structure only serves to speed up the disease's destruction of his body. He will die within the month unless you cure him" he finished, taking note of Haku's horrified expression. His partner, he figured, had a soft spot for lost causes like Kimimaro and Gaara, he assumed, he could probably relate to them.

"Where is he?" Haku asked, his voice was quiet and sad.

"No doubt away from Otogakure to help in attaining Orochimaru's next test subject" Naruto said with a shrug "we'll head east to the border of Fire and Rice and intercept him before he makes any attempts in assuring the capture of the Uchiha."

"We're not going to stop Orochimaru getting the Sharingan? If he uses his immortality jutsu and takes his body, he will posses the bloodlines and will become more powerful" Haku trailed off, sounding wary.

"Orochimaru is the weakest of the Sannin" Naruto assured, with a dismissive gesture "If it wasn't for the fact that he shares similar goals with stalling Akatsuki, I would have killed him already, however, he still serves a purpose and until that is fulfilled, he will live" he assured "Akatsuki dislike Orochimaru as much, if not more, then I do. Their attention will be split between their goals and hunting him down and delivering vengeance; the longer he stays alive, the more useful he is" Naruto said, while staring off to the east.

"When will you finally kill him?" Haku asked, not liking the idea of toying with other's lives so callously, but it was a monster of a man they were talking about.

"The second I find my sister" he said with conviction "I have a feeling he knows something about it, he wouldn't be so confident in our encounters otherwise" Haku realized Naruto, for the first time, sounded troubled by the fact "he hated my father for taking the position of Yondaime from him, no doubt he would consider taking his daughter away from her home a just punishment" he said. Haku couldn't tell from his face, but he could feel the anger radiating from the fifteen year old.

"Why do you want to have Kimimaro-san join us?" Haku asked, in an attempt to change the subject.

Naruto continued to stare off into the east, keeping silent for a few moments, before answering "He will perfectly balance out our little team" he admitted "that and the way he was treated in his life – to his knowledge or not – will make manipulating him much easier" he said, glancing briefly toward Haku who frowned.

"Is that what you did with me?" he asked with no hint of emotion in his voice.

Naruto took another stick of pocky out of his pouch and chew on it for a few moments before answering "At first? Yes" he answered bluntly "you will still loyal to Zabuza-san and thought you had no reason to continue on with your existence; you killing yourself wouldn't be useful to me at all" he admitted "it's not like you had much of a life before I intervened anyway" he said, tilting his head in Haku's direction "and travelling with me, you can freely express your homosexual tendencies with no fear of my disapproval" he said, a hidden smirk behind the cloak of his collar as Haku flushed in anger.

"Will you shut up about that?! It's old and not funny anymore!" Haku replied angrily, he wasn't sure how he felt about Naruto manipulating him the way he did, but one thing was certain – his life definitely was much better now that he travelled with the blonde, despite the constant teasing. Naruto truly was a master puppeteer to be able to manipulate people to his will so.

Naruto disappeared in a gust of wind, a snort of amusement on the wind as he did so. Haku sighed before he was encased in a glacier once again almost instantly. The glacier broke into thousands of tiny icicles revealing nothing but air as the two headed east.

­

Mitarashi Anko sat at her favourite bar, a plate of Dango and a bottle of sake lying on the table in front of her as she silently pondered the last few months of her life. She snorted in amusement before taking a sip of sake at the thought of how often she had been doing just this lately.

Ever since the mission to retrieve the slug princess Tsunade, she began to feel more and more disillusioned with her home village. This normally would have never happened, however, ever since the death of the Sandaime Hokage, a man she knew she could always confide in and actually cared for her, she found that she just didn't care for the village as much as she used to.

Normally, the ridiculously difficult solo 'S-ranked' missions the council sent her on, hoping she would just get herself killed in the process, wouldn't even bother her; it was, after all, one of the ways she would deal with her boredom, especially considering that she absolutely refused to take a Genin team.

Now though, with the death of one of the only people she saw as precious to her in this village, every action taken against her seemed to hurt all the more. All the years of ignoring the pain that resulted from other's actions towards her seemed to have finally taken its toll; if the fact that she had recently taken to crying herself to sleep every night was any indication of that.

She still had friends, or at least she assumed she did. Yuhi Kurenai, a girl she grew up with and advanced in shinobi ranks alongside was someone she often spent time with drinking or getting a bite to eat while discussing their lives with each other. That comfort had however become a rarer commodity now that the woman had gained an interest and possible relationship with the late Sandaime's son, Sarutobi Asuma.

Then there was Morino Ibiki, the interrogation specialist of Konoha and her partner in crime. At one point in time, it wouldn't be uncommon to find the two of them shit faced drunk and generally causing some sort of disturbance some place in the city for kicks. However, without the Sandaime chuckling at their antics and letting them slide anymore, the council really cracked down on the interrogation specialist and warned him off such actions again if he wanted to keep his job.

Now, all she did for fun was her missions and brooding.

She wasn't so naïve to think that things would get better for her. She was a mistake that Konoha wanted erased to remove all evidence of an embarrassing past. She was also the only remaining link the village had to the despised Snake Sannin that they all used to revere.

She snorted at that.

Well, she used to be.

The Uchiha brat had just yesterday fled the village in the direction of Sound, probably to seek power from Orochimaru. The kid seemed crazier then Itachi ever was, and that's saying something. What she found more amusing was that she believed the _reason_ behind his fleeing was something no one in the village but the boy himself expected. The gaki had probably discovered Namikaze Naruto's identity and strength level for himself and in a fit of jealousy and rage, fled to the one source he believed would grant him the power to not only kill his brother, but surpass the one who dared be better then him.

Oh well, not like she cared. The brat will probably one day seek Naruto out, especially if he kills Itachi, which seems likely considering all t his fiasco with the 'Akatsuki' Jiraiya was telling them about on their last mission together, and he will get absolutely thrashed.

The thought made her sigh happily.

She would give all of her mission earnings to see _that_!

Suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted by a sharp pain coming from her collar bone that could only belong to her cursed seal.

Damn she hated this thing.

It would seem that the revered Snake Sannin was really pissed about something, as he often was when she felt this kind of pain from her seal.

She hoped she saw the Namikaze gaki again, hopefully he found some way to remove it.

­

But for now, she would be content with the fact that her old bastard of a sensei was so pissed off at something, she could feel his anger from hundred of miles away.

Naruto and Haku stood in an open grassy field, not even attempting to hide their presences from the incoming shinobi. Haku had been worried at first with this plan – he remembered the carnage the young Kaguya had caused from stories Zabuza had told him. At the time, the boy had been twelve and he was able to slaughter Kiri Jounin level shinobi with ease; he was a perfect tool of war for the Kaguya clan.

Suddenly, appearing in a blur of speed, a boy who looked to be in his late teens with two red spot marks between his eyes, long bone white hair, an open white Gi top showing off a pale yet muscular chest, fitting black pants all held together by a thick purple rope belt tied in a makeshift bow at his back.

"Namikaze-san, please move aside, I have a mission to complete and I won't have you interfering" the white hair boy said with a cold face.

Somewhat humbled that his reputation was spreading to the likes of Otogakure elites, Naruto turned to Haku, seemingly inspecting him before turning back to Kimimaro.

"What is it with people from Kirigakure and having an overabundance of oestrogen?" he innocently asked. Haku slapped his forehead in annoyance while Kimimaro didn't seem to be affected by the insult at all.

"Is that your purpose? To inform me that my appearance is causing you to feel conflicted in your sexual orientation?"

Haku looked at the white haired boy with eyes as wide as dinner plates while Naruto remained perfectly silent, his hat and cloak completely obscuring his features, not allowing one to notice his take on the insult.

Suddenly there was a snort coming from Naruto before a soft chuckle escaped his lips "Indeed Kimimaro-san, unfortunately for my friend here, you are mistaken, I was merely making an observation" he said amiably.

Haku however, was not pleased "What? You let up on him after one insult and return to calling me gay?" he asked, annoyance clearly present in his voice.

"Yes" was his brutally blunt answer. Haku resisted the urge to face vault and ruin their image of 'dangerous criminals'.

"I'm sorry to intrude on your mission Kimimaro-san, but I cannot allow you to continue" he said, all trace of humour in his voice gone.

"I assume you will be trying to return the Uchiha to Konoha too then?" he asked, tilting his head to the side and tensing the muscles in his back.

Naruto snorted in amusement before answering "He can go and play with Orochimaru all he wants if he thinks it will help him kill his brother, I couldn't care less" Naruto admitted "I said I couldn't allow you to continue, not that I couldn't allow you to complete your mission, though the two seem to share the same meaning at this moment."

Seeing Kimimaro's confused face, Naruto chose to elaborate "You are suffering from an advanced form of Tuberculosis, one that will kill you if you so much as exert yourself one more time according to your last medical examination" he revealed, not at all surprised that Kimimaro seemed to know this.

"I know this, what of it? I live to serve Orochimaru-sama, if I die in his service, it would be a great honour."

"Is it an honour to serve someone who refuses to seek treatment for someone he supposedly cares for? You" he said, pointing at Kimimaro "of all people, who deserve any leader's upmost respect for you devotion to them would be willing to sacrifice yourself for someone whose only reason for not caring for you being that you would exceed him in strength?" he asked, his head tilted.

Kimimaro frowned at the comment and Naruto hid a smirk at his plan succeeded, he had planted a seed of doubt "Orochimaru-sama and Kabuto-san informed me that there was no cure for my disease" he said, not betraying any emotion.

"Of course they would" interrupted Haku "were you at full strength, they would fear your abilities" the words, as soon as they left Haku's mouth, seemed to have an instant effect as Kimimaro's eyes darkened slightly.

"I live to serve Orochimaru-sama, if he so chooses that my death is in his best interests, then I would happily oblige" he confessed.

­

Naruto tilted his head in confusion "You may be so willing to throw away your life for a man you think you know" Naruto admitted "yet, I wonder, how anyone could throw away their life for a man after said man continued to commit crimes worse then the ones their subordinates were subjected to."

Seeing the confusion on the white haired teen's features, Naruto took out a scroll from his pouch, slowly so he wouldn't surprise the white haired teen and tossed it at his feet.

"In that scroll, you will find proof of Orochimaru kidnapping shinobi children from their homes, raising them in captivity and performing several experiments on them to further his ambitions" he said, as Kimimaro took the scroll warily and began to read "you may be willing to serve your master and help him achieve his ambitions of destroying Konoha, but how can you, in good conscious, serve a man who commits atrocities worse then ones you were exposed to as a child" he said, not flinching in the slightest when Kimimaro's head snapped in his direction.

"I make it my business to be well informed of anyone I will be having dealings with Kimimaro-san" Naruto explained "I know of how you were literally beaten into submission nightly while a captive of your own clan" he began, speaking more loudly.

Haku finally realized how he was ensnared by Naruto's manipulations at first back in wave, the boy had a charisma about him that just drew you to him and made you listen to the words he spoke. It he was still a part of a village, or even wanted to be, he would make a great Leader.

"Orochimaru not only treats his captives worse, he does so under your very nose, laughing behind your back as you blindly serve him despite him being no better then your clan. Those children he has captive are just as innocent as you were. Who will protect them? When Orochimaru has people like you serving him and making sure they cannot gain the salvation they so rightly deserve?"

Haku watched, amazed, as Kimimaro's hands seemed to be trembling as he looked over the scroll's irrefutable proof.

"What is your purpose here? What will you do about this?" he said, his voice sounding broken, Naruto assumed, for the first time in his life. The teen had always served someone in his life, and now, betrayed for a second time, he was probably feeling lost and confused.

"Haku can heal your disease, despite what your former master and caretaker told you" he said with confidence "afterwards, I would welcome your…skills…to our group, it would serve to balance us out perfectly making us much more formidable."

"So, essentially, I am trading one master for another" the boy said, narrowing his eyes "how do I know you won't betray me like the rest? And should I chose to agree, Orochimaru would have me killed regardless for disobeying him through the curse seal" he asked, covering the seal with his hand instinctively.

"I have no interest in being your master" Naruto began "you would be free if you chose to travel with us, I have no use for mindless drones after all, I would need you to have your wits about you if you are you are to live up to my expectations" he confessed "As for betraying you? You don't know that, but you do know that I am offering you things no one has ever offered you before, freedom, and removing the means in which Orochimaru can control you" seeing both Haku's and Kimimaro's shocked expressions, he elaborated.

"I have been studying the cursed seal's mechanics for some time for an…acquaintance of mine" he began "I have created a Fuuinjutsu that essentially exorcises the portion of Orochimaru's soul within your body implanted by the seal completely, leaving only the seal and the benefits it provides. It will essentially cut your link with him and free you" Naruto explain, aware how both were looking at him with wide eyes, it was no surprise either, such techniques were a bitch to create.

"There's also the fact that Haku will cure your disease of course" Naruto said, motioning to Haku "being perfectly fit for the first time in years would be another gift from me to you, and with this gift, you could go free all of those prisoners of Orochimaru's" he said, sweetening the deal "you are, of course able, given your freedom. I merely offer the choice in joining us afterwards if you so wish…we can be an… entertaining group to be around…" he finished lamely. Haku wasn't able to resist the urge to face vault this time.

Kimimaro gave no verbal sign of compliance save for the smallest of nods while relaxing his stance and lowing his defences. Naruto nodded and looked directly in his eyes with his own. Kimimaro didn't resist the Genjutsu he was being placed under and soon let darkness claim him.

"Take him to the place we have set aside for the operation" Naruto ordered "will you need help?"

When Haku sook his head in the negative Naruto merely nodded and approached his friend, using his slipping of a scroll on his person to get close enough to deliver a message.

­

"Go quick and cover your tracks, I need to deal with a pest" he said, in a voice that Haku could barely hear but heard nonetheless.

Disappearing in a familiar glacier, Naruto wasted no time and used Shunshin to appear next to a large random tree on the opposite side of the clearing with his arm pulled back ready to strike. So shocked the person hiding within the tree by his sudden attack, he barely had time to escape when the tree itself was demolished by a chakra-enhanced punch.

"Zetsu-san" Naruto greeted "you may be excellent at stealth and hiding your presence, but you cannot full my senses" he motioned to his nose as he mentioned his senses "your scent is far too close to that of the famous giant pine trees of Kusagakure" he said, while slowing removing his hat and cloak.

"Is that right Naruto-san? Then I applaud you on your detection skills, but I have been ordered to bring you in given the opportunity, I find this to be the opportune moment" he said, removing his own cloak in the process revealing a standard shinobi outfit customized slightly to customize for his huge venus flytrap head.

Naruto crouched low, one arm placed towards the ground while the other facing Zetsu "I have warned your organization enough times about interfering in my affairs" he commented "and now you know about my newest team member, which is something I can't have you reporting to your superiors."

Naruto observed his opponent carefully knowing his Shodaime puppet would be all but useless, if not self-damaging to use from what he knew of his opponent's fighting style; he would only take advantage of the extra coverage. His poisons wouldn't be of any use either; it was well known that the plant like shinobi was immune to all foreign toxins due to his unique body chemistry.

Suddenly, Zetsu sped towards Naruto at an impressive speed, one that he wasn't expecting, and ducked his head, using his Venus-flytrap head to try and bite him in half. Naruto turned on his back foot, allowing Zetsu to pass by harmlessly and twitched one of his fingers to initiate his own attack.

Suddenly, Zetsu had to dodge less he be impaled by hundreds of senbon -one of which would have easily punctured a vital point in his body – and a large metal scorpion like tail from beneath him.

"Ah, are these your original creations then?" the white half of Zetsu's face asked.

"**I wonder why he isn't using human puppets like his useless late master, perhaps he lacks the skill? Foolish boy"**

"It's useless" Naruto said, phasing out of existence in a gust of wind with the aid of a Genjutsu "taunting me won't help you bridge the gap between our skills" he said, his voice coming from all directions "you're already dead."

The cold and emotionless way in which Naruto delivered the information would have scared anybody into submission, possibly into pleading for their lives, but Zetsu was not a member of Akatsuki for nothing.

"**You cannot scare me Kyuubi-boy" **the black half of his face said, sinking in to the ground. Not allowing his opponent to escape, Naruto reappeared in a flash of speed and slammed both fists into the ground causing the ground to split open in a huge fissure.

Zetsu appeared looking worst for wear with a scowl on his face from one of the trees "Your strength is annoying, perhaps I should sap it away from you?"

"You honestly expect to beat me with poisons?" Naruto asked, acting incredulous "How useless."

Naruto commanded his reconstructed Doriru to appear before him, its mighty shield defending him from the thousands of poisonous needles fired from the sharp thorns on Zetsu's plant like head.

Twitching another finger, Naruto commanded his Tenshi puppet which burst out of the foliage of the trees to blast the plant like shinobi with its twin flamethrowers attached to its arms. Flying high to use the sun as a natural cover and limit Zetsu's visibility, he commanded it to release two powerful torrents of fire. Zetsu didn't notice until the last moment, having been focusing on trying to destroy Doriru. Cursing, he replaced himself with a log and appeared on the other side of the clearing, a move Naruto had been expecting.

From directly behind Zetsu, Dokueki latched onto it like a parasite using its six limbs to keep him stationed. Naruto twitched another finger, commanding his puppet to attack, and on queue, it punctured the body of Zetsu with several blades that shot out from its torso directly into Zetsu's.

Naruto didn't look too surprised when Zetsu crumbled into several pieces of mud. It was a clone.

­

"Are you done running from me Zetsu-san, you are boring me" Naruto said, knowing full well that Zetsu was trying to sneak up on him from behind "I told you, there's no point in trying to fool my senses."

Naruto snapped around and raised his foot hit before bringing it down for a devastating attack that cracked the ground in a straight line towards the plant like shinobi. Dodging out of the way of the attack, Zetsu continued his own only for Naruto to dodge under another attempt to devour him.

Naruto commanded his three puppets to attack simultaneously; Doriru lashing out with powerful strikes and his large scorpion tail, Tenshi firing senbon and swooping down to intercept any of Zetsu's counters and Dokueki using its six limbs expertly and trying to puncture Zetsu with one of its many blades.

"**Enough of this boy!" **yelled the black half of Zetsu's face "You will meet your end!"

Zetsu flashed through several hand seals before slamming his palms into the ground. Naruto was, suffice to say, intrigued when dozens of thick vines erupted instantaneously from within the venus-flytrap head and the ground both, attacking his puppets and himself simultaneously.

"**DIE!"**

The vines, which were covered in impressive and dangerous looking thorns, shredded Doriru as he attempted to protect the other two puppets easily and sped straight to Naruto who covered his body with his arms to avoid most of the impact.

Zetsu grinned maliciously when his vines impacted; however, not wanting to be careless, he increased the power of his attack, his limbs all turning into massive, dangerous vines leaving only his black and white torso and head remaining.

"**Unfortunately, I cannot kill you, but victory is mine Kyuubi, you knew this was futile, I don't know why you…" **Zetsu turned in shock when he felt a massive amount of chakra being gathered behind him, turning his head as much as he could, the rest of his body dedicated to attempting what he thought was Naruto, only to see Naruto with his arms held out to the side, palms facing the sides and slouching slightly.

The boy was glowing green and radiating chakra freely.

"Try and escape this" was all the warning he got, as the wind around Naruto picked up to create a small tornado which shortly increased in size. Zetsu didn't even have time to retract his vine limbs from the previous location when Naruto spun around at an incredible speed and stopped several feet close to him, his arms in the same position and crouching down low.

A shredding tornado of epic proportions, one of the same size as the one he had seen shred the Shukaku's leg came thundering towards him, destroying everything in it path, including his puppets, once again.

Zetsu didn't even have time to scream as the cutting winds tore him apart in and pulled him into the eye of the raging tornado. Naruto was only annoyed that he wouldn't have a head to turn in and collect a bounty for.

As the winds died down, Naruto let out a deep breath, covering his nose to mask the smell of tainted blood that was drenching the area when he caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye. The sun was shining on a small metallic object on the far end of the clearing.

Approaching it, Naruto grinned when he saw a small ring marked with the kanji for 'boar' on it. Oh, how he loved screwing with their plans.

Naruto immediately took off in the direction Haku should be waiting for him in, currently operating on Kimimaro, knowing that others had to have seen or felt the results of that battle.

Kakashi panted heavily as he continued to keep up with his dog summon. He had been running for almost a day straight to try and head off his wayward student. He had returned home from a mission only to hear that Tsunade had sent what shinobi they had, five Genin and a Chunin, to return Sasuke to Konoha, unharmed preferably, but a body would suffice if he resisted.

He had immediately, without the permission of the Hokage – though he knew he had it – to try and salvage whatever he could of his team. Sakura had, understandably, stayed behind, her strength being nowhere near the level needed for this mission if her embarrassing performance in the Chunin exams was any indication, and even though he was worried for Sasuke's safety and mental health, he was most worried about little Hanabi. The now eleven year old was one the team of Genin sent to fetch the Uchiha, her knowledge of his fighting style and personality being a valued commodity that they would exploit.

­

The sight that he was met with when he arrived at the valley of end would be imprinted in his mind for years to come – just like the sight of his old team mate being crushed by several boulders.

There, beside the river, lay Hanabi, heavily bleeding yet luckily still breathing. As he rushed over to her, he cursed his ex-student – 'ex' because no student of his would do such a thing – had probably used a Chidori to sever the girl's arm. Even if Tsunade manage to salvage it, he doubted she would be able to use chakra through her arm again, thereby ruining any prospects of her using the Jyuken style properly ever again. Sasuke has deliberately not killed her knowing this. Where had he gone wrong?

"Hanabi-chan, can you hear me?" he asked gently, silently instructing Pakkun, his trusted dog summon, to try and locate Sasuke's scent; he would kill the boy for doing this to such a promising shinobi, though that was if Hiashi didn't find him first. He silently cursed when he realized the rain that had began to fall over an hour ago would probably cover the boy's trail, he couldn't have chosen a better time to flee even if he tried…

"I could have killed him…" muttered Hanabi under her breath, which was laboured due to the loss of blood "I had the opportunity to strike his heart but I hesitated…because he was my team mate…" he managed to get out, her face contorted in pain but no other emotion showing on her face. Kakashi winced at her words, he was the one that taught her the values of teamwork after the uptight Hyuuga initially refused to work with her team mates; he couldn't help but feel partially responsible.

"I'll kill him…I swear it…Jyuken or no…" she declared before him, murderous intent leaking from her as her eyes narrowed. Kakashi sighed, wondering if he could persuade her otherwise as he felt a headache coming on – this was like Sasuke all over again.

"Don't think about it now Hanabi-chan" he uttered softly while closing off the wound with his mediocre first-aid skills he picked up while in ANBU while sealing away what was left of her arm, idly thinking that there was nothing much to salvage "we'll discuss this when we get home, I'll protect you…" he visibly winced at the words – is this how all the people he promised to protect ended up?

"Arigatou…Kaka-sensei…" she said softly before letting the darkness claim her. Kakashi hefted her over his shoulder and secured her to his back, waiting for Pakkun to return, though he didn't think it'd matter much.

Suddenly, there was a large explosion of chakra to the west. Snapping his head in that direction, his eyes widened when he saw a massive tornado over the trees travel a short distance before disappearing quickly. Were any of the other Konoha shinobi in danger? Before he let his thoughts consume him, Pakkun returned quickly in a puff of smoke, panting.

"Kakashi" he said, still trying to catch his breath, probably from escaping that blast if he was close by "that blast was created by the Namikaze boy, he was fighting an Akatsuki member in that direction…" he said, raising one of his prized 'squishy' pawed hand and pointed in the direction the explosion came from.

"What do you mean 'was' fighting?"

Pakkun's face turned serious "It was a man with a huge venus-flytrap encasing his head" he began "the boy completely decimated him, that last jutsu didn't leave much other then a lot of blood and a few shredded body parts" he explained, as Kakashi's eyes widened in shock.

"He's already gone, it looks like we need to get the gaki back to the village, Sasuke's scent, as you know, was washed away by the rain…"

Kakashi nodded solemnly, though glad that something good came out of this day. Naruto seemed to be encountering Akatsuki a lot lately according to Jiraiya's information, as long as he doesn't get captured, perhaps he could remove the threat they could potentially become before any lives are lost. He snorted at Sasuke's possible reaction if Naruto killed Itachi before him as Pakkun disappeared while he made his way back to Konoha.

A pair of white eyes looked back at the area she had felt the explosion come from with interest before closing once again.

Naruto arrived back at the clearing he said he'd meet Haku in earlier that day only to see an exhausted Haku panting and leaning against a tree with Kimimaro sleeping peacefully by the lake.

"It was a success then?" he asked, though he knew it was unnecessary.

"Yes" Haku affirmed "he claimed that it was remarkably painful, which doesn't come as much of a surprise seeing how many infected cells needed to be destroyed and regenerated in his body."

­

"Which means he was screaming like crazy because you didn't have the foresight to apply any anaesthetics or render him unconscious" Naruto concluded, filling in the left out pieces of Haku's exclamation.

Haku had the decency to look embarrassed "It was an experimental procedure, I hadn't had a chance to test it before today" he admitted, making Naruto snort in amusement.

Both looked to the slumbering boy as Naruto began to unseal some equipment from one of his scrolls.

"You're going to remove Orochimaru's connection to the seal now?" Haku asked as Naruto nodded.

"Why not remove the seal itself?" Haku asked, genuinely curious.

"I could so much remove the seal from him that I can remove my seal from my body. It is so intertwined with his chakra system that it would probably kill him" he began "but even if I could, I wouldn't, it would be pointless."

Seeing Haku looked at him questioningly as he began to paint a complex array of kanji around Kimimaro's seal and in a large circle around him on the ground in the shape of a pentagon, he decided to explain.

"The curse seal, basically, converts ones' stamina into chakra, boosting one's chakra capacity exponentially for a short period of time" he began "this has its downsides obviously, as you could imagine, it puts an immense amount of strain on the body and prolonged use could lead to an extreme case of chakra exhaustion, or death" he explained as he quickly and efficiently used some Kage Bunshin to finish off the sealing array before Kimimaro before he woke up.

"If I simply remove Orochimaru's soul from the seal itself and Kimimaro's body, he can no longer control any part of Kimimaro as well as implant suggestions into his mind, he will be free and be able to use the power of the seal should he chose" he explained with a shrug as he performed several hand seals.

After releasing the seals, Haku noticed that Kimimaro's breathing became deeper and evened out.

"I put him in a forced sleep, wouldn't want him waking up during this" he explained.

Naruto then began to perform his own set of hand seals, and while he couldn't recognize any of the seals themselves due to the speed in which he was performing them, it was the longest sequence he had ever seen in his life, at least five times longer then the sequence for the Suiryudan no Jutsu.

"Fuuinjutsu: Ashikonda no jutsu (Evil Soul Exorcism technique)"

Suddenly, blue chakra seeped out of Naruto and travelled into the seal array on Kimimaro's body and the ones on the ground around him until the seals were glowing a bright gold in colour. Naruto continued to hold the last seal of his jutsu as sweat started to pour from his brow while Kimimaro's body started to float from the ground, his cursed seal glowing brighter then the seals around him.

Haku watched, with a sick sense of fascination as the floating Kimimaro's body seemed to convulse violently when the seal started to glow more brightly. Sweat was rolling down Naruto's face in torrents from the strain of holding the technique Haku assumed and it awed him. Of all the impressive techniques he had seen Naruto used, none had strained him like this, not even the sealing of the Kyuubi's mind, yet this one was so powerful it was making his knees tremble.

Naruto was having trouble keeping upright while holding the technique, the damn portion of the snake sannin's soul was putting up more of a fight then he had anticipated. It had become a battle of willpowers to try and seal the soul fragment into the unrolled scroll before him and then destroy it.

"Haku" Naruto called out with urgency in his voice "I'm having trouble standing, some help?" he asked, his voice cracking from the strain.

Haku nodded, immediately understanding what he needed to do. Holding his hands in a seal, ice started to form at Naruto's feet and rise up to cover his whole body up until below his armpits in a thin yet powerful layer of ice. He had to keep applying more chakra to the makeshift stand however as the immense amount of chakra Naruto was putting out was heating up his body by epic proportions and melting the ice almost as soon as he applied it.

Naruto allowed himself to be supported by the ice as he completely focused on removing the soul. Unbeknownst to either of the shinobi in the clearing, Naruto's eyes began to glow a brilliant red with power as if there was a flashlight behind his eyes illuminating them as he pumped out more chakra.

With an ear piercing scream of effort, Naruto put forth even more chakra, causing the already blue fiery aura surrounding him to explode outwards as he made one final push to remove the soul. Haku watched with awe, while ­

subconsciously adding even more chakra to hold the ice stand in place, as the cursed seal itself began to glow a sickly purple. Suddenly, from the seal, a purple mist, the same colour as the light, floated out and pooled in the air above the levitating boy for a few seconds before Naruto forced it into the scroll he had set up in the beginning of the seal.

The mist flew straight into the scroll as the kanji on it flashed purple once before dying down and leaving a plain scroll with simple writing on it, or so it seemed.

Kimimaro instantly fell to the ground with a thud, but that didn't mean Naruto stopped. Using his last bit of strength, Haku broke the ice stand so Naruto could escape and grasp the scroll as quickly as possibly.

Naruto looked at the scroll in contempt before rolling it up and tossing it into the air. He went through three hand seals before his forearm was encased in a swirling vortex of wind. Moving his arm up as quickly as possible, as if half-heartedly uppercutting an imaginative opponent, the wind blasted from his hand and straight for the scroll – it would be shredded in seconds.

The soul fragment of the snake Sannin would no go down quietly though as the scroll literally let out a high pitched shriek as it, instead of being shredded like expected, started to melt in mid air as it was destroyed.

Naruto swayed on his feet as Haku quickly ran to him to catch him before he fell.

Naruto had a lazy grin on his face as he looked up at Haku's face, amused by the compromising position they were in "As tempted as you are to kiss me right now" he rasped out, his throat sounding dry from the strain on his body "I think I'll be asleep for a while…though you should know…" he began, trailing off…

"Orochimaru felt every second of that…" he said with a grin as he fell unconscious.

Haku looked around at the decimated clearing, where the seal array once was only to have disappeared, then at the two unconscious shinobi sharing the clearing with him before cursing in his mind.

"I won't be sleeping for a few days…" he mumbled under his breath before picking them both and placing them on a platform of ice and leaving the area, surely someone will come asking questions after that display of power.

Naruto slept with a smirk on his face while Kimimaro looked content.

Kabuto looked at his master with worry. The man had been screaming and howling in pain for the past ten minutes while on all fours. Uchiha Sasuke sat in a darkened corner of the room, clearly unimpressed by his new sensei's show of weakness.

After the screams died down, Orochimaru turned a murderous glare on his personal medic before his lips twisted in a sick grin.

"Bring me Karin…I need to vent my frustrations on _someone_, and if I can't do so on the brat himself…"

Kabuto smirked while readjusting his glasses, allowing the light to reflect off of the lenses, hiding the glee in his eyes.

"…then I will do so with his sister…kukukuku"

Author's note:

Oh snap, I was wondering if I should have revealed that here or waited until Naruto actually met her, but I figured I should explain her life in some ways before they actually meet so you know their personalities and what not beforehand and then, can understand their reactions when they meet.

Zetsu is dead; I hope his abilities are somewhat believable. He died easily but I never thought of him as a fierce opponent. I guess I always saw him as a useful tool used by Pein for his abilities. It's not like he's necessary for the plot, but now Naruto has two rings.

I'm gonna go back to the Harry Potter fic for a while now, then come back and do a chapter here when I've written like 4 or 5 more for it. It helps when I get a random bout of writer's block I guess…

I strongly suggest reading 'The Lie I've Lived' by jbern if you haven't already; it's off hiatus and a very good HP fic.

Adios.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: I Sea Trouble

Chapter 16: I Sea Trouble

Author's Note: So you know, Naruto is currently sixteen and Haku and Kimimaro are eighteen. The main time skip has not occurred yet, just getting rid of some filler episode things first before that happens.

A rather large man with a neatly trimmed beard dressed in formal clothing sat silently while observing the man sitting across from him. The offer was truly ludicrous, why would he even think that such a thing was even remotely considerable? Did he intend to pressure him into making this deal because he was a shinobi? He hoped not, this man was known to be dangerous and he wasn't sure whether his impressive guard of samurai and few shinobi guards would be enough to save him, but he wouldn't show fear here – shinobi like this man thrived on fear.

"The Land of Rain may be in a state of civil instability and unrest, however, do not make the assumption that we are economically weak because of it. We are situated on the border of several other countries and thus, our lands are used often as trade routes. The rainforest we live in provides an excellent natural defence for our buildings and landmarks which also adds to this land's desirability. Finally, due to the constant rain our country experiences, our lands are perfect for growing rice during all seasons, amongst other things – all these factors make us very powerful economically, what makes you think you can simply buy this country from me?"

The figure seated opposite him silently pulled an envelope from his cloak, slowly and deliberately so he did not scare the man, and slid it across the small table. The man eyed the envelope warily for a few moments before opening it, curious as to its contents. As his beady eyes read over the contents of whatever the envelope contained, his shock overcame any sense of propriety that he was expected to uphold, he fainted on the spot.

The 'Feudal Lord' of Rain Country was awoken by his guards not a few moments later and after several moments of silence where he collected his thoughts, he spoke.

"What could you possibly gain from purchasing this country? What would you have me do if I accept?"

The cloaked man eyed the person sitting opposite him from under his straw hat before speaking in a calm and, slightly cold voice.

"Your country's hidden village is being run and controlled by criminals, no longer are you in control of your own country" he began "Once I purchase this country, you will reroute seventy five percent of your B to S ranked missions to other countries secretly, and cut funding and supplies to Amegakure no Sato by an equal amount and sell it instead to other countries."

The man looked at him in shock, clearly confused "Why would I cripple my own country's military might like that?"

"It is rather simple, it is because regardless of what you believe, Amegakure's military might no longer equates to your own. The people of the village believe their leaders to be Gods and would sooner follow their orders then your own."

"Even if I do this, what makes you think someone so obviously powerful would not just kill me for crippling them like this and take over themselves?"

"Other then the fact that killing you will serve absolutely no purpose now that I own the country?" the man didn't dispute this "you may use the money given to you to hire elite shinobi to guard you from several other countries" the cloaked man knew that this would help little, but he also knew that Akatsuki would realize killing the Feudal Lord would be detrimental to them and not do it anyway, he merely needed the man to be calm.

"I hope you know what you're doing…you're virtually destroying a once powerful shinobi village in one move…"

Namikaze Naruto smirked from under his hand and behind his cloak "I know."

Naruto arrived in a thoroughly damaged clearing where Kaguya Kimimaro and Haku were virtually passed out, as they lay panting on their knees facing each other.

"Been sparring I see" Naruto commented, chewing on a 'pizza' flavoured Pocky stick. As Haku and Kimimaro turned to their unofficial team leader, they collectively winced when they saw the flavour of the Pocky box he was holding.

"Hai Naruto-sama" Naruto's eye twitched at the respect and devotion in the older shinobi's tone; ever since waking up and realizing his cursed seal had been virtually removed and his disease cured, he had treated him like he was a god – despite the fact that Haku had cured the disease and not him.

­

"Did you do what you had to do?" Haku asked; Naruto had not thought it necessary to divulge what his long term plans were unless it was absolutely necessary and the two of them not knowing would hinder them, so they simply ignored it for the most part. Besides, they couldn't be tortured for information they simply didn't have…

"Hmm" Naruto hummed in an positive tone "So you say Orochimaru relocates his base of operation every time he thinks there has been a leak in his security?"

"Hai Naruto-sama, and approximately once every six months regardless, he is a very paranoid man…"

Naruto nodded "Majority of the world wants to kill him; I can understand why" he mused "well, you leaving would probably be considered a security risk so we are back at square one."

"What news is there of your mother's location?" Haku and Naruto had seen it fit to inform their new companion on all their immediate schemes and recent encounters so the boy wouldn't be surprised by anything at the wrong time, not like it mattered though; the white haired boy would probably jump off a cliff if Naruto said it would be beneficial.

"Hmm, Danzo is remarkably efficient when he puts his mind to it" Naruto complimented "They have narrowed down her location to Water Country, apparently they have reports of someone that fits her description, unfortunately, he's not the only one tracking her down…"

This caught the two panting shinobi's attention "Who then, Naruto-sama?" asked Kimimaro.

"Akatsuki of course, they think by capturing her they can trade her for the rings, that or just kill her for my meddling I suppose" he said in such a callous manner that it sent shivers down Haku's spine. How can an orphan speak so coldly of his own mother? He then remembered who they were talking about and scratched that thought.

"You obviously don't see her as your mother, why expend so much trouble in finding her?"

Naruto paused as the pizza flavoured pocky was making its way to his mouth ever so slightly before he resumed munching. His silence showed the two that he was ignoring the question entirely. Kimimaro assumed he honestly didn't know the answer while Haku believed otherwise, though he chose to keep those thoughts to himself.

"Where to now then?" Haku asked, as he regained his strength.

"Sea country - my sources tell me that Orochimaru had a base of operations there at one point, we'll go and investigate."

No further word was needed as the three shinobi made camp to rest for the night, the next day they would make their way to Sea country.

Mitarashi Anko sighed as she was finally free of her temporary 'team' for the moment. If she was honest with herself, the bug boy was alright; he may be a little creepy, but he listens to his superiors, only speaks when necessary and is an excellent scout. Aburame Shino was definitely a competent shinobi in her book, but the other two had her contemplating homicide on more then one occasion.

Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura would simply not shut the fuck up! The both of them are supposed to be shinobi, Chunin at that, yet their arguments would give away their position to enemy shinobi that were five miles in any direction, not to mention that god awful pink hair and red clothing acting as a beacon for attacks. The platinum blonde hair and purple dress of Yamanaka Ino didn't really encourage much stealth either; fucking kunoichi these days are a disgrace, its no wonder opinion of them is at an all time low. As much as she despised her late sensei, she was still proud of the fact that he had chosen a kunoichi such as herself to be his apprentice, because despite being a fucked up, paedophilic, insane and generally evil son of a bitch, he was a legendary shinobi, and that she couldn't deny.

She had sent the brats earlier to scout out the town to find any information on this 'Kaima' monster that was terrorizing the local populace and attacking ships whenever they set out from the village.

Suddenly, Anko's cursed seal flared up, releasing a torrent of memories directly into her mind as the pain coursed through her body. Orochimaru telling her that the Sandaime had caught onto his experiments, Orochimaru bringing her here and showing her one of his research laboratories…Orochimaru's human experimentations…

As suddenly as it came, it stopped, leaving Anko a panting mess. After a few moments when she was sure the pain had disappeared, Anko leaned back and rested against the rocks of the hot spring she was relaxing in. She never told her bratty team where she'd be so hopefully she could relax while they were gathering information; even though she was quite certain bug boy already knew, hopefully he would exercise a little self-preservation techniques and choose to not interrupt her in here.

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Her eyes opened wide with shock as a presence suddenly appeared directly behind her.

"You should know better then to sneak up on a woman taking a bath…" she warned, while her right arm slowly snaked to the kunai hidden behind her back under the water. It was for naught though as her body froze up completely, removing any ability for movement on her part.

"Imagine my surprise…" began an all too familiar and infuriatingly calm voice from behind her, only to continue from a different location above her "…when I arrive in Sea Country, minding my own business, only to find my favourite snake summoner, naked as the day she was born, for all to see" finished Naruto as he lay on the branch of a tree that hung over the hot spring while looking down at her from under his thrice damned hat.

Anko smirked at the brat for his sheer audacity, it had been a while since she'd seen him and honestly, it was a welcome surprise.

"You know, some people may consider what you're doing an act of perversion, and I'm not sure whether your title for me should be much of a compliment considering the competition" she said, grinning up at the 'dangerous' criminal, not in the least modest about her nudity, even if it is partially obscured by the steamy waters.

"Some people would be right to consider this an act of perversion, I am, after all, blatantly watching you bathe and, from my position, you are quite naked" he said, only the slightest amount of amusement in his voice as he lifted hit hat off his head and began to spin it on his finger, his eyes never leaving her own as he spoke. Anko suppressed a shiver at those demonic red eyes peering down at her, so much like a demon's yet completely lacking the malice that would normally accompany such eyes.

"My, my, you've grown into quite the little pervert then, those books have rotted your mind" she chided, not at all offended, those books were damn good when you were by yourself at night and in need for some…relaxation.

"One could argue that those books have done quite the opposite if I were to find myself in a specific situation" Naruto replied with a raised eyebrow. Anko wanted to laugh out loud, not at the attempt because honestly, someone as powerful as this boy flirting with her was kind of a turn on, but the fact that Namikaze Naruto, Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune and 'S-classed' criminal was indeed flirting with her was so absurd that she just wanted to laugh.

"Mm, one could argue that" she purred, delighted when she noticed his body slightly stiffen at the sound of her voice; hah, she still had it! "Normally, I would castrate you for the viewing fee, but seeing as I would be in your debt if you were to actually have come through on our little agreement and that I wouldn't be able to catch you anyway, I honestly find myself not caring either way, so, either start speaking or scram, I was enjoying my time alone for your information" she wondered if the kid had come through on his promises about the seal, she doubted it but it was still a nice thought.

"Hmm, if I were to say that I have already discovered a way to remove a curse seal's influence on the bearer, what would be in it for me?"

Anko's eyes widened momentarily before she reprimanded herself for daring to hope, he was still flirting with her and probably looking for a quick screw. Sorry Namikaze Naruto but Mitarashi Anko was no paedophile like her wayward sensei and she wasn't as easy either.

"Play time's over lover boy, I am not in the mood for your empty promises, besides, I have nothing to give…" she bit out rather coldly, only to stop dead when a Naruto shadow clone knocked her out from behind.

"Then I guess you'll owe me" he muttered, all traces of playfulness gone from his voice as he carried a very naked Mitarashi Anko away from the hot spring.

"GODAMN IT! WHERE THE HELL IS ANKO-SENSEI?!" yelled an extremely frustrated blonde haired kunoichi, whose feelings were mirrored by her rival in love.

"I dunno, but I'm going to pound her into the ground when we find her" the girl threatened 'SHANNARO' an annoying voice in her head agreed with her.

The only sign of Shino's feelings towards the situation was a slight twitch of his eyebrow behind his glasses, but what he was exactly annoyed at would remain a mystery.

The boy silently replaced himself with a clone and left the two girls to search all they wanted, Anko was a Jounin, if she didn't want to be found she won't be.

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To say that Haku and Kimimaro were shocked to see Naruto casually walk into their campsite with a very naked, very beautiful and very passed out kunoichi in his arms was an understatement. Even more surprising was when he didn't even offer an explanation, merely depositing her unconscious corpse in a wide open clearing before he unsealed his sealing tools and got to work.

Haku suddenly recognized the woman and the sealing design when he looked again, hiding a blush as her glorious assets were bare to the world.

"This is his Ashikonda no jutsu, the technique to exorcize Orochimaru's soul from a cursed seal. He used this on you…but it severely drained him the last time he used it…"

"I am prepared for the backlash this time around and Anko-san not having been in contact with Orochimaru in some time will have weakened its hold on her, not to mentioned the fact that she's never used its powers before so it shouldn't be too difficult" Naruto explained, as he often did when using his Fuuinjutsu.

"Won't the backlash alert enemy shinobi to out presence?" Haku asked as Kimimaro looked on in interest, having been the recipient to said technique while passed out, perhaps he could finally see why Haku speaks so highly of Naruto's skills.

Ignoring the question, Naruto pulled out four kunai, each with a seal marker on it, and threw them at random places around him roughly creating a square.

Naruto performed a series of hand seals before calling out his technique, mainly for Haku's and Kimimaro's benefit then his own.

"Fuuinjutsu: Kyuuten no Shouheki (Barrier of the Heavens? I guess…)" as he held the last seal, blue light engulfed his hands and raced in four separate directions to each seal marker. Upon contact, the seal markers also exploded in light, bathing the clearing in it and forcing the three conscious shinobi to cover their eyes. When the light died down, Haku and Kimimaro were surprised to see a large cube like barrier surrounding the immediate area.

"The barrier won't hold back anything physical…nor will it hold back any chakra attacks either…" he commented offhandedly "however it will distort any chakra signatures and pulses created from within so we can move once the procedure is done and not be at risk of being discovered" he finished explaining, looking around the barrier and making sure it worked correctly.

The removal of the soul piece from Anko's curse seal went smoothly, more so then Kimimaro's with Naruto being prepared for the struggle the soul piece would put up. After the soul was extracted and destroyed, Naruto collapsed near the still naked Anko, sweating but with more energy then the last time he had performed the technique.

Kimimaro looked slightly sick at the procedure "That was in…me…at one point?" he asked in revulsion, referring to the piece of Orochimaru's soul that had inhabited his body. Naruto nodded, removing his cloak and shirt to cool down, the procedure having made him sweat quite a bit and become uncomfortable, his overbearing cloak wasn't helping any.

"What information could you two gather on the island Kikaijima and Orochimaru's presence there?" he asked his two comrades, after regaining his breath.

"A man resembling Orochimaru's description was apparently seen with a youth we believe to be Uchiha Sasuke not long ago sailing towards Kikaijima. The reason why the villagers had taken note of this is because apparently, anyone that has ever sailed too close to the island has disappeared forever…" Haku frowned, leaving the rest of the explanation up to the newest member.

"The townspeople say that anyone who sails too close to Kikaijima is attacked by some 'Kaima' monster, it seems more likely that there is some research facility on the island and anyone approaching too close is abducted for experimentation. I also spotted two shinobi who I have witnessed in Kabuto-san's company previously back at Otogakure in the vicinity. I was able to follow them to Kikaijima itself where they disappeared into the island from an underwater tunnel."

Naruto nodded at Kimimaro's assessment "How do you rate these Oto shinobi?"

Kimimaro scoffed "They are trash, barely Chunin level."

Naruto had to grin at that, Kimimaro's attitude to anyone he didn't like and was weaker then himself was always something he enjoyed listening to "What of this 'Kaima' monster?" asked Naruto, sounding unimpressed.

"A team of Konoha Genin have been asking questions regarding it also in the town, I assume Anko-san is the Jounin in charge of the mission" Haku said, motioning towards the now covered Jounin, still sound asleep while using Naruto's ­

dark grey cloak as a blanket. Haku and Kimimaro shared an amused glance when he had covered her so; Naruto did his best to ignore it.

"Haku, deal with any troublesome Oto shinobi from the outside, Kimimaro and I will infiltrate Kikaijima and try to find any clues to Orochimaru's whereabouts."

"What of the Konoha shinobi? Anko-san may not attack, but I fear two of the Chunin seem to be quite… hot headed… should they attack me?"

Naruto shrugged "Deal with them, if they are too stupid to realize when they are up against a superior opponent and still attack, they shouldn't be shinobi."

Haku nodded "I hope you do not have anything… improper planned for Anko-san when Kimimaro and I vacate the premises?" Haku teased, getting a snort from Naruto.

"I could ask the same question in regards to you having anything 'improper' planned for Kimimaro when you vacate the premises Haku-chan, did I forget to mention he enjoys dressing up as a woman and going on dates with young boys Kimimaro?"

Kimimaro looked to the annoyed Hyouton user warily, nodding in thanks to Naruto for the warning before leaving the area, no doubt with his but cheeks clenched rather tightly.

"You_know_ I'm not gay, why do you keep telling people that? Now he's going to be uncomfortable around me" Haku said with a sigh as he too disappeared, his body seemingly becoming ice and shattering into thousands of icicle shards, leaving nothing behind.

"Hmm, he's getting better at using his Hyouton bloodline, no doubt his dragon companions have been helping him with that…don't you think Anko-san?"

The Jounin in question merely snuggled into his coat further, relishing in the warmth it provided. Naruto looked to his left, then to his right before sniffing the air, making sure he was alone before proceeding with his next task.

He slowly lifted his cloak from Anko's grasp and smirked when he got another eyeful of the purple haired Snake summoner – he wasn't a pervert…just a curious teenager with uncontrollable hormones…yeah, that's it…

"Why has Zetsu decided not to grace us with his presence yet again?" Hoshigaki Kisame asked, sounding as annoyed as he looked. Their 'leader' constantly called them through their rings for progress reports that they just had to deliver, yet bug boy seemingly always got out of attending, especially lately.

"Zetsu has been destroyed, his ring stolen as well. I hardly think I need to inform you on how this came to pass…" Pein's deep yet monotone voice sounded through the chambers, the only part of his silhouette that could possibly be used to identify him were the numerous rings of his Doujutsu.

"Hn, Naruto-kun is proving to be more trouble then he's worth…" Itachi muttered, his voice barely a whisper yet it carried through the entire cave.

"Why don't we alter our plans and apprehend him next, if we give him time to get stronger it will only be to our detriment" Kakuzu offered.

"Enough, I have a plan to lure the Kyuubi to us, what better way to capture an orphan then to use his family?" Pein replied to Kakuzu's offer.

"You assume too much dickhead, what if he doesn't bite?" Hidan sneered, everyone in the cave visibly tensed, how Hidan kept insulting Leader like that and getting away with it only the two would know.

"If he doesn't bite, then I will kill them all, then I will kill him for interfering, he is no match for me" he stated in such an unsympathetic way that the other shinobi in the room couldn't help but agree.

"What progress have you made on finding the brat's mother?" Kisame asked, changing the topic.

"Not as much as I would have liked unfortunately, Zetsu was the one who was investigating her current location, with his death went all information he had gathered…with resources spread thinly already as they are with the lack of income coming from the village, I need to find another way to locate her."

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Their reports given, the members of Akatsuki all left the meeting, leaving empty spaces where their shadows had once been. Konan remained in her corner in the shadows frowning at Pein with several conflicting emotions warring within her.

The Hokage of Konohagakure, the most revered and respected kunoichi in all of the elemental countries, granddaughter of the Shodaime Hokage, grandniece of the Nidaime Hokage and the single person responsible for the discoveries of cures for several dozen known diseases was currently sitting at her desk with an empty bottle of sake in one hand and a saucer in the other stone drunk. To say that this had not been a good few months for her would be an understatement, in fact, she often found herself fantasizing about what her reaction _should_ have been to Jiraiya asking her to become Hokage – it often involved a severe beating of some kind and his genitals, in a way that he would _not_ have enjoyed.

Actually, his behaviour towards her would suggest that he had masochistic tendencies so she wasn't so sure…

If the fact that she was practically assaulting anyone that walked through her door by any means necessary wasn't a sign of her mood, then the state of her office would definitely tip someone off. Papers and files strewn amongst the floor, important documents being misplaced and switched because they were merely stamped once and ignored, and technique scrolls unrolled or almost destroyed were what one would find if they tried to navigate their way through the office. Yes, she was in a very bad state.

First she finds out that some random ex-citizen turned super shinobi, the Kyuubi container of all things, had desecrated the bodies of her ancestors and turned them into his personal play things, regardless of whatever permission he had received, it was an insult to _her_ as well as them and she would not have it. She didn't think it necessary to send hunter-nin after him specifically, especially since the first group to encounter him yielded a few dead shinobi and one mentally scarred yet thankful one.

Her decision to call off the hunter-nin had not been received well by the majority of the shinobi elder council who saw the Namikaze boy as either their property, considering what he contains and what they had let slip, or a black mark on the clean record of the village hidden in the leaves that had to be snuffed out. The reports that he used no such chakra that held the same maliciousness that the Kyuubi's had caused them to rethink their views on him being an actual demon, that was a plus in some ways, but that still didn't settle the hostility several shinobi harboured for him for 'abandoning his village'. Yes, a six year old having the audacity to live and grow strong after his village tried to kill him, the nerve!

Then fucking Jiraiya had to give her a report that she most definitely did_not_ want to hear, that one of the shinobi often seen with Namikaze Naruto had in his possession the contract for the dragons, a summoning contract that has only ever appeared in shinobi folk tales and legends. Not to mention that the very same boy controlled a bloodline limit that allowed him to utilize Hyouton techniques. The two of them made a very formidable pair.

If the council's almost retarded fear of the boy causing them to force on her irrational and foolhardy decisions wasn't enough, her personal man in the ANBU corps had just reported to her something that only served to increase her headache. The crippled war hawk, Danzo, has been diverting funds from the village's yearly budget into his 'Ne' unit for a mission that no one knows about, one that has seemingly occupied most of his time as he has officially stopped busting her nuts during council meetings about mundane issues.

Aside from the political bullshit giving her problems, there is also the military aspect of the village where the Hokage word is supreme and the council has no say in, only to advise if necessary. The problem is that the village was in such a shitty state when she took the helm that it really isn't her fault that Konoha has declined in military power since her instilment. She often wondered if her ancestors would be ashamed of her, but to be honest, she didn't know how she could do better.

Village moral was at an all time low after the Sand-Sound invasion's partial success and so was numbers. They had lost many a promising and powerful shinobi that day defending against Orochimaru's forces that it was quite surprising Iwa didn't take full advantage and invade immediately afterwards. The only positive of the whole shit storm was that the snake Sannin probably took an equal smacking to his forces so it wasn't just one sided.

Then there was the problem with the lack of missions coming in as of late, the numbers severely decreasing over time with only a slight pick up recently as the Rain country shipped some of their missions over to them, not even remotely enough to boost them economically to the level they need to be at.

The reports of an organization that Jiraiya had given her that seems to be a group of powerful 'S-classed' shinobi taking on missions for a much cheaper price then villages offer and in large quantities doesn't help their situation either. An organization she would have to deal with soon whether she liked it or not, seeing as one of their more powerful members was an ex-Konoha shinobi Uchiha Itachi.

"You know, drinking your problems away won't help any princess" an all too familiar and annoying voice said from the window; a voice that soon yelped in surprise as she hurled the empty bottle of sake in its direction.

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"Fuck off Jiraiya, if you had to deal with half the shit I put up in a single day in this office in your whole life you'd probably keel over and die of a heart attack" she muttered bitterly, pulling out another bottle of sake before her evil assistant came back and forced her to do her work again.

"Probably" Jiraiya began, he really didn't think it necessary to reveal that it was all his idea to put her in said office in the first place; he had no plans of dying any time soon thank-you-very-much.

"So what brings you back here? And if I hear any reports of an old and creepy white haired man giggling near the women's hot springs within the next few days, expect to have your life span severely shortened, I am not in the fucking mood" she warned as Jiraiya chuckled nervously, perhaps his stay wasn't going to be as long as he had first planned.

"You know I have to give my customary report, and I figured I could pop back for a few and see how my old flat-chested team mate was doing and have a drink" he aptly dodged a paperweight "I can see my humour isn't appreciated."

"Enough of your shitty jokes you limp-dicked bastard" she hissed angrily, her glare would have killed lesser men.

"Now, now Tsunade-hime, don't go insulting little Jiraiya-who-isn't-so-little until you give it a 'test drive'" he dodged another paperweight "not that I'm implying that you will anytime soon" he dodged another metal projectile, man she had a lot of those things handy "or ever…"

"Well, what news do you bring?" she asked, sounding as exhausted as she looked.

"Hmm, well I've figured out what Danzo is up to if you're interesting in knowing – of course you are" he added hastily at her glare "it seems that he's been searching for a friend of ours for quite some time, the reason why I can only speculate, but she isn't safe where she is anymore – I am, of course, talking about Kushina" he reported grimly.

"Kushina, what the hell does Danzo want with her?" she asked, perplexed.

"Isn't it obvious? Danzo wants to control the Namikaze brat, he thinks kidnapping his mother and holding her hostage is the best way to do that" he commented with a shrug.

"You don't sound worried" she observed with a frown.

"I've sent one of my summons to collect her and take her to a safe house, it should be there within a few days, she's in safe hands" he assured "though one must wonder if Danzo has a death wish, he's practically asking for Namikaze to stick him good, not that I'd complain to be honest, and by the looks of you, I don't think you would either."

Tsunade shrugged, not allowed to say such a thing officially; however, she won't deny it.

"Anything else?" she asked, glad that her old friend would be safe for the time being.

"Yeah" he began with a frown "no doubt you've noticed the influx of missions from Amegakure, Konoha isn't the only village to receive such a bonus from them, the word is the country is under new management" he sighed "to what point and purpose though, I have no idea. The Land of Rain is under constant heavy guard, I won't be able to get in easily and I have no reliable contacts on the inside, whatever happened there though has crippled that war-torn village even more" he frowned "a good seventy five percent of their missions have been diverted onto the other shinobi villages in the elemental nations."

"I don't like the sound of that…something's coming…" she sighed as she took another sip of her drink "Amegakure huh? Brings back memories…" she chuckled; Jiraiya too chuckled as he remembered their younger days.

"Why do I get the feeling this is a lot bigger then any of us thinks, and it all has to do with the Namikaze brat?" Tsunade asked tiredly.

"Because it probably is and it probably does princess" Jiraiya affirmed with a chuckle "to what extent though remains to be seen, what news of the Uchiha brat?"

Tsunade shrugged "I refuse to expend any resources to bring back a fool of a brat that left on his own accord, let the hunter-nin deal with him, if they love him so much the council better hope they bring him back alive, I couldn't care less either way to be honest" she said coldly.

Jiraiya just chuckled "You're not worried about Orochimaru having the Sharingan? Or him resurrecting the Uchiha clan within Otogakure?" he asked turning serious.

­

"No" Tsunade said coldly "Hopefully they'll raise one just like Konoha's Uchiha raised Itachi and they'll wipe out the whole village for us" she said with a chuckle which Jiraiya shared.

"I always imagined the bastard's ambition to be the end of him on day" he said sombrely "he'll piss off the wrong person one day and not even Kami himself will be able to save him."

Tsunade twitched in annoyance at that "What exactly makes you think Kami is a man?"

Jiraiya just grinned "He made the woman body and hot springs, what else would he be?" he chuckled perversely. Tsunade had run out of paperweights to throw at him so she just sighed, trying to get the image of a robed Jiraiya watching over the planet out of her mind's eye.

Why wouldn't that damn headache go away?!

Anko's eyes fluttered open from what she thought to be the best sleep in her life. Never could she remember a time where she felt so refreshed, light and free of burden. She couldn't explain it, but something made her want to jump for joy and communicate said joy to the world from the top of the Hokage monument.

That thought stopped dead when she felt, rather then noticed that under her very warm and very comfortable blanket, she was completely nude. Memories of what occurred before she was sent into the land of dreams caused her to open her eyes wide in shock and sit straight up from her lying position.

Namikaze!

He had ambushed her in the hot springs the second she let her guard down!

Did he have his wicked way with her?

She certainly didn't _feel_ like he did…

Realizing her upper torso was exposed to the world, she quickly covered up with the cloak…wait, cloak?

Looking at the cloak, she immediately recognized it to be the property of a certain blonde haired, red eyed criminal.

"So you're finally awake then" stated an all too familiar voice from the other side of the clearing. Instinctively reaching for a kunai she didn't have, Anko observed her surroundings to find Naruto standing on a tree branch above her snacking on a stick of pocky. Judging by the sun's position in the sky, it was still early morning; did this kid _live_ of pocky?

She really couldn't judge, given that she practically lived off Dango, but there was a difference! Dango was the food of the gods!

Suddenly, it finally clicked the situation she was in. She was but naked, in the middle of a clearing with no idea where she was covered in that bastard's cloak feeling happier then she'd ever felt before for some unexplained reason.

"What the hell did you do to me?" she hissed, getting up from her seated position and donning the cloak she had slept in, not caring in the least that he got another free peep show, he's seen it already anyway, what did she care? It was rather chilly though…

"You mean other then remove Orochimaru's control over your cursed seal?" he asked offhandedly, causing Anko's mind to come to a screeching halt.

Did he just say what she thinks he said?

Bullshit.

There's no way.

But for the life of her, she couldn't feel the draining and tainted presence of the curse seal at all. She could still feel it but it didn't feel necessarily bad…

"Unfortunately, through my studies I found that removing the seal is quite impossible, it is ingrained into your chakra pathways and doing so will probably kill you" he commented "but the portion of Orochimaru's soul that inhabited your ­

body can definitely be removed and destroyed, which is what I did" he commented with a shrug "you've never used your seal before so it wasn't as difficult as the other one I've removed; you should know though that the pain of removing and destroying a piece of one's soul is excruciating."

Anko's eyes widened at the implications.

"You mean…?"

"He felt every bit of it and it probably left him bed ridden at least" he said with a shrug as Anko grinned maliciously.

Seeing her silence he continued "You'll probably find your chakra easier to control and your physical stamina to be greater then it once was now that the seal has been rendered ineffective."

Naruto saw out of the corner of his eye that Anko's own eyes were shimmering with unshed tears, tears she refused to let fall in his presence. How odd.

"I…I don't know what to say…" she said in a voice barely above a whisper "what can I say to the gaki who has done more for me then my own home village has…" she said, her voice sounding hollow.

"Hmm, it wasn't for free, you owe me one" he said, tilting his head "but you can take your time in repaying me, say…in two years, you can repay me in two years time" he said, a small smirk gracing his features.

Anko's eyes narrowed "You wouldn't happen to be sixteen years old would you?"

Naruto shrugged innocently "I may be, I don't see how that is relevant though."

Anko eyed him shrewdly before snorting in amusement. The snort turned into a chuckle and the chuckle turned into a full blown laugh. Not one of those laughs you have at a well placed joke, but a laugh that came from the depths of her soul, one that left her breathless yet still wanting for more.

"You think you can handle me gaki?" she asked with a grin, as she sauntered over to him "I'm way…" she quickly leapt onto the branch he was standing on and moved right next to his ear "way…" she ran her tongue along the side of his face "out of your league."

Naruto showed no outward signs of being affected but his heart was beating a million times a minute. He just hoped she wasn't able to pick up on it; it would ruin his image if he was to be affected by her so easily.

Unfortunately for him, Anko did pick up on his pulse quickening, a feat Orochimaru had taught her when she needed to pick out liars if necessary. With a grin that clearly spelt her satisfaction, she hopped off the branch and began to walk away.

"You don't mind if I keep this do you? You did, after all, neglect to take my clothes with you when you kidnapped me" she said playfully. Naruto just shrugged in response.

"Keep it, call it the viewing fee" he said, and to her shock, he was grinning right back at her. The expression almost looked foreign on his face as his grin didn't show any malice or killing intent, just playfulness.

She had that effect on him?

Oh yeah, she still had it.

"Sure thing lover boy, see you around" she was almost out of hearing range when his no nonsense voice reached her ears. It was slightly shocking that his almost whispered voice carried so far but she had noticed that the wind had conveniently changed directions the second he began to speak.

"We too have a mission here; keep your comrades on a leash less something happens to them…"

In an underground base in an undisclosed location within Rice Country sat a red headed girl no older then sixteen with half lidded shockingly red eyes aimed at the ground. It was not her striking red eyes that garnered one's attention at the moment however; rather it was the fact that her porcelain like skin was marred with bruises, cuts, burn marks, gashes and stab wounds.

­

The girl in question had no means to defend herself from the enraged Snake Sannin however as her arms were tied behind her back and her legs together allowing her the movement capacities of a slug rather then a normal human. Her back rimmed glasses were broken in two and her lip was swollen, marring her usually beautiful features.

"Be glad Karin-chan that you are still useful to me" hissed the Serpent Sannin before licking the entire side of her face with his enlarged tongue "for if your usefulness should ever end, there is always an army of male shinobi who miss the touch of a woman, a young woman, but a woman nonetheless…"

The girl lowered her head so the Snake Sannin couldn't see her tears. Why her? What had she done to deserve this? Had she not researched and provided results on the curse seal like ordered? Had she not managed the Northern Facility to satisfaction? He had promised her that if she did a good job she would send her back to her mother, a mother she hardly remembered, but her mother nonetheless. Instead, she was ignored and lately, beaten within an inch of her life before his lackey would heal her to functional health.

"You better hope that Sasuke-kun will accept you as breeding stock Karin-chan or your usefulness to me will have come to an end, and you know what will happen to you if that happens, don't you? You remember Asuka-chan don't you?"

The mentioning of her very first friend enraged her, but she didn't let it show less she be punished further. Asuka had been her very first friend and was until the age of thirteen when her usefulness had come to an end. Orochimaru had literally thrown her to the wolves that were the sex depraved Oto shinobi and she was their little lamb. She had killed herself within two months of being at her new post, not that Karin would blame her, it must have been hell…

"Aww, don't hate me Karin-chan" he cooed, licking her face again before cackling in that god awful voice that seemed like nails on a chalkboard to her "if you want to blame someone for your treatment…you only need blame one person…" he said softly, a grin splitting his features as he continued.

"You only need blame Namikaze Naruto, a constant thorn in my side and…" he waited until she locked eyes with him before finishing.

"Your twin brother…kukukuku" he cackled as her eyes showed grief, anger, hate, hope, and happiness all after the other. Orochimaru frowned when her eyes settled on showing hope and determination, did she think he was coming for her.

"No one is coming to save you Karin-chan, he doesn't even know you're here and he never will" he hissed, cackling mentally when another tear escaped her eyes, he loved breaking his prisoners like this "Sasuke-kun has also shown a dislike for you, saying something about Uchihas not meant to be having red hair… I wonder…"

Orochimaru left Uzumaki Karin in her temporary prison cell as Kabuto entered to treat her wounds, she was useful after all and her research allowed for the creation of the second level of the curse seal.

Karin was left to rest and recover while dreaming of a life she could have had. Where was her brother? Where was her Nii-chan? She had never met him before, had no idea what he looked like or even what kind of person he was, but she couldn't help but feel a connection to him, one that she had always known existed yet never known the meaning for. Would he abandon her like her mother had? Would he forsake her just like the rest?

Uzumaki Karin cried herself to sleep in the privacy of her own room, for no one else was ever permitted to see this moment of weakness.

The last thing she saw before darkness claimed her was a flash of fire accompanied by a soothing melody that immediately put her worries at ease.

She fell asleep with a small smile on her face.

Anko's earlier mood was destroyed when she had arrived back to her temporary team. Shino was okay and bought her excuse, well, at least she thought he did, he didn't press the matter after all. However, those damn girls…

Let's just say that they're damn lucky she didn't feel like becoming some hunter-nin's target any time soon…at least not yet. These two might actually push her over the edge if they didn't shut the fuck up soon.

"I can't believe her!" muttered Sakura to her friend "thinking she can go spread her legs for the town in the middle of a mission and just ditch us to do all the dirty work!"

Shino resisted the urge to palm his face, this girl, for being the top ranked kunoichi in their graduating class in terms of book smarts, she wasn't very smart.

­

A kunai suddenly flew past her face, cutting her cheek ever so slightly otherwise harmlessly passing by her.

"Care to repeat that?" Anko hissed in a deadly voice while leaking enough killer intent to make the Kyuubi shift uncomfortably. Sakura and Ino were finding it hard to breathe while Shino, from behind his cloak and glasses, seemed to be sweating slightly.

"Y-you heard what I said" Sakura stuttered out, in what she probably assumed to be an act of bravery – it was anything but.

"You're calling me a whore? You, who would no sooner spread your legs for your traitor of an Uchiha in the middle of the village in high noon if he asked you to – which he wouldn't by the way, fags tend to be that way – and you have the nerve to even insinuate that I'm a whore?" she reached for another kunai, ready to put the brat in her place.

"Sasuke-kun is not a…a FAG!" Ino screamed, appalled at the insinuation.

"Will. You. Shut. The. FUCK. _UP_!?" she hissed out, emphasising every word of her rhetorical question with a hard poke to the girl's forehead "You're shinobi, what the fuck do you think you're doing screeching like banshee and gossiping like morons in the middle of a mission? Did you skip the god damn lesson in the academy which told you a shinobi _utilizes_ stealth? If your god forsaken hair styles, perfumes and clothes weren't enough to give away out positions, your voices sure will be!"

Just as Sakura and Ino were about to launch into an indignant tirade, reminding their team leader that they were Chunin and not some rookie Genin, a large geyser erupted from the ocean, almost capsizing their little dinghy were it not for some quick thinking on Anko's part. When the water subsided, it revealed two men standing in their path on the water, both wearing glasses and Oto forehead protectors.

"I'm afraid we can't let you go any further Konoha shinobi" taunted one of them in a sing-song type of voice "you should have returned when you had the chance, don't think we didn't see you gathering information on the mainland."

Anko recognized someone familiar out of the corner of her eyes and hid her smirk well as her temporary team got ready for a fight.

"Deal with them" the other one said, seemingly to the water only to have, what Anko could only explain as, a fish-girl leap out of the water and fire several water missiles at them, only for them to stop mid air and change direction, back at the two Oto shinobi.

Before they could even regain their bearings, a burst of water shot the three of them up into the air, leaving them prone to attack. The leaf shinobi sans Anko watched in awe as a masked boy came into their view controlling the water and bending it to his will to attack their attackers.

It was then that Sakura recognized the boy "YOU! You're supposed to be dead! Sasuke-kun killed you!"

Completely ignoring the girl, Haku commanded the ocean water with a wave of his hand to circle and trap the two shinobi and one girl in a water prison. The leaf shinobi watched, flabbergasted, as three spheres of water floated in mid air with their prisoners within.

"Why are you guarding this facility?" Haku asked in an amicable voice, however, his captors weren't feeling so charitable. The girl's fish like features receded, leaving her looking mostly normal with a few scaly patches of skin. She didn't answer the question and only looked away from her attacker in defeat. It was hard to tell with her being encased in water, but he thought he saw a tear escape her eye.

The two Oto shinobi merely sneered at him "You're technique will run out eventually you piece of trash, and when it does, we'll crush you."

"I see" Haku's voice was suddenly as cold as the ice he commanded "is that you're final answer?"

Seeing that he was getting no response from the two, he sighed sadly before applying chakra to two of his water prison. To the shock of everyone watching, the spherical prisons froze over ever so slowly, turning into ice and rendering those captured within as nothing but ice cubes, or spheres, rather. When the freezing process was over, Haku willed the two blocks of ice to smash into each other, shattering the two prisons into millions of pieces, including their prisoners.

Shino merely raised an eyebrow at the boy's power and how effective the technique was. He wasn't sure, but he thought he remembered reading about someone with abilities similar to those he had just witnessed in the Bingo book, but as long as he made no aggressive moves, he should have no reason to attack them.

­

Ino and Sakura looked sick at how brutally efficient the method of killing was, it didn't even leave a mess! How could someone be so callous towards human life and kill so easily? Ino made her thoughts on the matter quite clear.

"You…you monster, how could you kill them so easily? Couldn't you just disable them or something? That wasn't necessary!" she accused, sounding both revolted and sick to her stomach at Haku's actions.

Haku merely turned to them in amusement, an eyebrow raised behind his mask at the girl's accusation. He then turned to Anko and as if by some form of telekinesis, she understood his question.

"Ignore them, they still think being a kunoichi is a glorious job that will win over their little Uchiha fag they have a crush on."

"Uchiha-san?" Haku question, his voice somewhat muffled by his mask "What a coincidence that Uchiha Sasuke-san's two biggest fan girls would be in the vicinity when he himself was visiting this village not long ago…"

The comment shocked the leaf shinobi somewhat, all for different reasons; Shino because the one that almost caused the death of some of his closest friends was callously walking around free while they were still in the hospital, Ino and Sakura because they were that much closer to finding their crush and Anko because where Uchiha Sasuke was, Orochimaru would not be too far behind.

"Tell us what you know about Sasuke-kun!" ordered Sakura, cracking her fists in an attempt to look menacing, a stance her friend took also.

"You don't need to tell forehead, but if you don't tell me, we're going to have some problems" Ino threatened.

To Shino's surprise, Anko merely got comfortable in the boat and watched the proceedings with a happy smile on her face while humming an unrecognisable tune. When he sent her a questioning look, she just looked at him with amusement.

"What? You can't honestly say you aren't looking forward to the two of them getting their asses handed to them can you?"

Anko's grin only grew in size when instead of denying her claim; Shino just readjusted his glasses and got in a better position to see what would happen next.

Without even blinking, Haku willed water to capture the two idiot girls and trap them in sphere prisons similar to the fish girl's, who was still seated inside the prison silently, a glassy expression on her face. The water in the prison also seemed to be oxygenated because the three prisoners could breathe in the water as if it were air.

"What can you tell me of the research facility on Kikaijima?" asked Haku again to the imprisoned girl, who continued to remain silent. Seeing as she refused to answer any questions and was working for the enemy, Haku was about to finish her off in a similar way to the other two Oto shinobi when Naruto and Kimimaro suddenly appeared atop the water not far from them carrying a bound scientist.

"Release her Haku-san, she is no more threatening then a civilian" Kimimaro stated "she was merely acting on the orders of Amachi-san here under the pretences that he would cure her should she comply."

"An act which he would have never fulfilled" Naruto chose to add, much to the shock of the girl in the prison "you were used like a tool Isaribi-san, I am sorry."

"Traitor" mumbled the captured scientist in Kimimaro's direction. The aforementioned teen chopped him on the back of the neck, knocking him out for now, in annoyance.

"What do I do with them?" Haku asked, pointing to Sakura and Ino who were looking around frantically and screaming obscenities from their watery prison. Isaribi had been released from her prison and swam over towards the boat, clinging onto it while watching the proceedings.

"Kill them and be done with it, we have other matters to attend to" Naruto ordered, causing the frantic screaming of the two trapped kunoichi to only increase.

Anko knew she would regret what she was about to do, but she really wasn't in the mood to have two Chunin die on a mission she was in charge of on her watch, not with all the shit she already has to put up with, so she decided to try and save them.

"Namikaze!" she called, shocking the leaf shinobi who recognized the name "don't kill them will ya, it will be a hassle for me and only come back to bite me in the ass if you do so…"

­

Haku paused, interested in seeing how this would turn out, Kimimaro looked interested also.

Naruto merely looked at her with amusement as she walked on over to him, a puppy dog look in her eyes as she did so "And why should I do that? Aside from the fact that biting you on the ass should be a right reserved solely for myself" he replied with a drawl, eyeing the kunoichi whose grin only widened at his response, making her way towards him.

"Because if you let them live" she started, before leaning in to his ear and whispering seductively "I may let you exercise that right you believe you have one day…"

Her grin turned almost maniacal when she saw how her teasing affected him, as his heart rate increased yet again from the close proximity and hot breath on his ear "You're playing a dangerous game Anko-san, I am a high ranking criminal after all…" he trailed off, no malice in his words however.

"Is there any other kind of game?" she challenged, still whispering in his ear. Haku and Kimimaro shared bewildered looks, yet remained silent. Their 'tender' moment was interrupted when a mad cackle sounded from below them.

"You let that whore of a girl distract you, and now Sea Boss will deal with you! NO ONE CAN DEFEAT SEA BOSS ON HIS HOME TURF!"

Incensed that his little game was interrupted, Naruto turned to their captive swiftly and with a super chakra enhanced punch, smashed Amachi right in the face. The three Konoha Chunin winced as his scientist's face was literally crushed by the force of the blow, leaving him a dead, bloody mess.

Unfortunately, he wasn't lying as a huge blob like creature rose out of the water to attack them like a tidal wave of goo, its only distinguishable feature being its nucleus in the centre of its body.

Naruto closed his eyes and sighed deeply in annoyance at this second interruption "Haku?" he questioned, after calming down. Seeing he had the boy's attention, he continued "take care of it please?"

Haku grinned behind his mask as he cit his finger with his canine and went through several hand seals.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu" he slammed his hand into the ground with his small blood sacrifice causing a seal array to appear on the surface of the water before they were all engulfed by a large cloud of smoke.

When the smoke cleared, Naruto, Kimimaro, Isaribi and the Konoha shinobi were treated with the sight of a humongous ice blue dragon with large scaly dark blue wings with several spikes covering its body.

"**What is it you summoned me for Haku-chan?"**

Naruto smirked at the summon beast's name for Haku, oh he definitely like this dragon.

Ignoring the dragon's taunt, despite how annoyed he was, Haku spoke "Azuregos-sama, please deal with that pesky sea creature advancing on us."

Without further prompting, the fifty foot dragon spread its huge wings and flew directly at its equally sized foe. The Sea Boss tried to bend around the dragon to avoid its talons, but Azuregos was too manoeuvrable in mid air to be avoided. The result was the dragon picking up the large jelly like creature and throwing up into the clear blue sky. As it started to fall back down, Azuregos took a deep breath and blew out a large stream of high pressured Liquid Nitrogen, practically freezing the enemy summon on contact. With a swing of its mighty club like tail, Azuregos shattered the now enormous ice cube destroying the creature instantly. Without even waiting to be dismissed, it disappeared in a puff of smoke after it so casually destroyed the enemy summon, leaving a group of either bewildered and amused spectators behind.

"At least we know where he gets the ideas for his new techniques from" Naruto commented to Kimimaro who could only nod his head in assent.

"He did mention something about his initiation ceremony with the holder of the contract involving a test of whether he could perform a technique similar to the Dragon's…" Kimimaro commented.

After all threats were gone, Naruto eyed Anko one last time before turning to his companions "We leave."

Haku nodded as he released his two captives and used Shunshin to appear over by Isaribi, grabbing a hold of the shocked girl and disappearing again.

­

Naruto and Kimimaro disappeared in kind leaving a group of bewildered, drenched and awed Konoha shinobi behind.

"Mission complete then" Anko commented with a cackle "always expect the unexpected when you travel with Mitarashi Anko!" she finished with a ridiculous pose that left her team gaping incredulously at her.

After stealing all of the research documents in Amachi's lab and burning it to the ground, the trio and their prisoner were speeding away, heading towards the docks so they could get a boat back to Fire Country before Naruto stopped dead in his tracks and closed his eyes. His ears twitched as if he was listening to something only he could hear.

Suddenly his eyes opened and they were like two chips of ice "We are parting ways for now" he commented "A lead of mine has proved successful and I intend to follow up on it…" seeing his two companions about to protest he spoke up again "alone" he said with finality "take Isaribi-san and work on her like I know you want to, I will meet you in one week's time in the land of wave."

Right before he was about to leave, he paused and looked over to Kimimaro before reaching into his cloak and pulling out an orange book "This is the latest edition of 'Icha Icha Paradise'" he commented as he threw the book and the white haired youth with a grin "I won't have time to read it, you may though, it will help, I assume, with your only company being Haku-chan."

Before either of the two could protest, a gust of wind blew and he was gone.

"He can be so troublesome sometimes…" Haku said with a sigh, deciding it would be best to make camp for the night before proceeding further. Kimimaro discreetly pocketed the book, promising to read the literature Naruto-sama had given him in private.

"What did he mean 'work on me'?" their captive finally asked, breaking her silence and sounding truly scared. Haku removed his mask and gave her a gentle smile, approaching the girl in a non-threatening way.

"I like to think I am very accomplished in the arts of medicine" Haku began in a warm voice, hoping to ease the girl's worries "I never like to see people like you suffer when it is unneeded, I intent to read into Amachi-san's research notes and while I very much doubt I will be able to remove your…unusual abilities entirely, I don't think it impossible to complete your transformation to be exactly like Amachi-san's so you won't stand out as much – that is, if you want me to."

The girl offered him a true smile and hugged him tightly, tears pouring from her eyes "Oh, thank you so much!" she sobbed into his chest as she held onto him with dear life.

Not used to such public displayed of affection, Kimimaro felt out of place and slightly awkward before trying to calm the girl himself "Haku-san is very good at what he does Isaribi-san, he himself cured my disease when, who I believed to be the greatest medic in all of Rice country, couldn't even come close to doing so."

It was a stretch of the truth, but she didn't need to know that. The sole remaining Kaguya felt a warm feeling spread through his chest when the girl looked to him with her watery eyes that were so full of hope and gratitude. He wasn't sure what to make of them so he simply walked away from the clearing, deciding to meditate on these thoughts.

"Did I do something wrong?" the girl asked, looking at Kimimaro's retreating form.

Haku gave her a reassuring smile and shook his head "Kimimaro-san, like both Naruto-san and I has also had a hard life, he is unsure how to act around people normally, but he is trying."

It had taken nearly all of his skill and cunning to arrive here undetected, having to dodge all manner of traps, alarms and guards in the process, but he had done it.

Before him was a fairly modest sized house whose sole occupant was completely unaware of his arrival. He had sent the toad summon that had so graciously lead him to this hidden location within the mountains of Water Country as soon as he arrived as to not alert his target in any way to his presence – he wasn't sure if the toad had seen him or not.

Sneaking past all traps and guards, the cloaked figure snuck into the house, making no noise as he moved and using the wind around him to make sure his movements were also cloaked to one whose senses have been attuned from years of being a shinobi.

He happened on a kitchen where his target was chopping some vegetables for a stir fry while humming a tune, her long red hair reaching down to her lower back while she was dressed in some worn clothes and an apron, the perfect ­

picture of a house wife. If he didn't know who she was, he would never pick out the fact that she was a powerful shinobi – one of the best – in her time.

Suddenly, the figure chopping the vegetables disappeared in a puff of smoke only for a cold metallic object to be held to his throat from behind.

"I'll admit you're good, to get so far without being detected, but you're not good enough to get past my senses" the voice of a woman spoke from behind him.

"Hn" was the silent assailant's only response as he too disappeared in a puff of smoke. The red haired woman, in her shock, spun around to look for her target behind her, it was a mistake she would not regret for long as she immediately locked eyes with what seemed to be the devil himself before darkness claimed her.

She awoke to the sound of silence, the statement seemed like an oxymoron but there was no other way to describe what she was hearing. Nothing, she heard nothing, and yet she could smell an array of different scents surrounding her, the main ones that seemed to assault her senses were five different fruits.

Peach, apricot, jujube, plum and chestnut; what a weird combination of fruit to smell…

It was then that she remembered what had happened, she had sensed someone sneaking up on her in her home and had in turn, snuck up on him, only for the perpetrator to switch with a clone and capture her with a Genjutsu. She must be held captive somewhere…but why wasn't she bound?

Suddenly, the first sound assault her senses since waking up did so…and it was the sound of a crunch. The first crunch was followed by another, then another and finally a fourth before the sound of swallowing was heard…someone was eating?

Looking up and rubbing her sore eyes, she was greeted with the sight of a figure seated on a large wingback chair with a straw hat covering the top half of his face and a dark grey cloak covering the bottom half that was open just enough for him to be eating… a stick of Pocky?

According to the box held in his left hand, it was the limited edition 'Five Flavour Pocky' series, this particular flavour being Goka, a combination of Peach, apricot, jujube, plum and chestnut. Well, that explained the smell…

Her gaze focused on her captor who began to slowly remove his hat revealing an angular face marred with blonde hair and slitted red eyes. If it weren't for the eyes and whisker like marks on his cheeks, she would have sworn her dead husband had come back to life, as it were though, she knew exactly who this was – Jiraiya had practically given her a play-by-play of all his known fights and a rough sketch of what he was supposed to look like.

This was…

"Good Afternoon…" he captor greeted in a deep and monotone voice "Kaasan…"

Author's Note:

I suddenly can't be fucked finishing this story, this is the end…

LOL

If you want me to continue, all my female readers have to send me nude pics…

LOL

I'll update when I get a few more KIP chapters done, next chapter will be last before time skip and what not, need to set them up for what they'll be doing for the next two years. Proper romance will begin between Naruto and Anko after the time skip, you heard her, she's no paedophile…


	17. Chapter 17

Author's Note:

Author's Note:

By the way, let us pretend that Kushina's eyes are red just like Karin's; I don't know what colour they actually are - green I think - and don't care to find out, so yeah. It makes my explanation for Karin easier if they are just accepted for being red.

Chapter 17: Parting ways

Anko couldn't remember a time she had ever been this happy before. Almost like Kami was smiling down on her herself (Kami was female of course!), she had allowed for the mission to Sea Country to be given to her. Normally, such an act wouldn't really be considered an act of Kami, no, but it was what happened on said mission that put the small smile that now permanently graced her features as she headed to the Hokage's office – she had had her lunch interrupted by an ANBU who had told her that the Hokage wished to see her immediately.

During the mission to investigate the 'Kaima' monster in Sea Country that she had recently just completed, two things that completely changed her outlook on life. One of those things was, much to her surprise, the permanent removal of Orochimaru's influence on her completely. Unfortunately, the mark from the 'Ten no Juin' itself was still there, but no longer was she plagued with horrific visions brought on by the seal unexpectedly, pain attacks when she was randomly angry at something or with the constant whispers that she had long ago pegged as her 'evil conscious', no, now she felt free. Mitarashi Anko felt as if a huge burden had been lifted off her shoulders and she, after several long years of imprisonment, was finally free to live her life.

Then there was the regaining of her memories while in Sea Country. After the Namikaze brat and his merry little group had left with their prize, she had gone on a small fact finding mission to quell another heavy burden that weighed down her conscious, one that she just had to free herself of despite the answers she would find.

Despite her quite famous resentment for her former sensei, the legendary shinobi had been the first person to treat her as if she were important, and for a war orphan such as herself without any parental figures to show her affection, that was something she would forever be thankful for. The early time in her apprenticeship under her ex-sensei provided her with some of the best memories in her life, a time where a famous yet extremely young genius shinobi chose her out of all the other academy applicants and imparted on her his knowledge of the shinobi world. He played the role as mentor well, sating her lust for knowledge and shinobi techniques whenever he could and taking her on missions where the harsh realities of the shinobi world were shown to her bit by bit.

At first, Orochimaru was a little cold towards her and Anko figured the Sandaime at the time had forced him to take on an apprentice or Genin team, but eventually, he had taken quite well to teaching her. She often remembered how he would gloat at Jiraiya about his 'prized' pupil's success while Jiraiya would gloat right back about his own. In retrospect, it was quite humbling knowing that one was being compared against the great Namikaze Minato, but that freakazoid was probably a bad choice for anybody to choose as a rival.

Eventually, without her noticing, Orochimaru had become slowly yet increasingly ruthless, performing experiments on people he swore to her were missing-nin and traitors, but in retrospect, Anko knew they weren't. They were mostly villagers of Konoha they he had captured to experiment on to find the secret to immortality.

As time passed, Anko began to realize that the affection that the two seemingly shared for each other was a farce, at least on Orochimaru's part, as the snake of a man merely considered her a tool. It wasn't until they both travelled to Sea Country while Anko was still a child that she realized this, and it was the events that occurred here that Anko never seemed to remember.

At first, she had believed that Orochimaru had abandoned her, thinking her useless to him and throwing her away like a broken toy.

The fact of the matter was, that after surviving the implementation of the first curse seal herself - the only survivor of ten test subjects - the Snake Sannin showed his true colours to her, telling her that he could give her power should she crave it enough. He could become a useful tool to him should she submit to the seal's will and become fully devoted to him.

In the end, her curse seal had become ineffective and dormant because she didn't have the lust for power or revenge that her sensei seemingly had, she was _nothing_ like her esteemed sensei in that regard, and being that the Ten no Juin focused on the user's lust for power and vengeance, it virtually had no real effect on her rather then being a huge pain in the ass and a way to inflict pain on her.

So, in truth, in the end, she had turned the man down, not the other way around. Her, Mitarashi Anko, the one who was glared at and distrusted by the majority of Konoha's population for her position as that man's student had been the one to discard him, allowing the man to erase her memory of that whole encounter.

That fact alone paired with the virtual removal of any lasting effects the curse seal ever had on her virtually severed any ties she had with the Snake Sannin, well, there was the snake summons, but she liked those.

­

Snakes were so cute after all.

It was with a smile on her face that Anko was admitted into the Hokage's office where, to her surprise, she was met with not only the Hokage, but with the Sandaime's old team mates, Ino, Sakura and Shino. Suddenly, her good mood flew out the window only to be replaced with a cold sense of dread in the pit of her stomach.

"Please have a seat Mitarashi-san" Tsunade motioned to the one empty seat in the room before the Hokage's desk as Homura and Koharu stood on either side of the esteemed female Hokage. Her three ex-subordinates on their last mission sat in three of the four provided seats, their heads turned and looking at her.

"I'd rather stand, if you don't mind, Hokage-sama" she said, casting a dark look at the two girls who were grinning haughtily at her.

"Whatever" Tsunade replied, quelling any argument Koharu was about to put forth "you're here today to discuss with us any relations you have with the 'S-classed' criminal Namikaze Naruto – we have reports from…somewhat reliable sources" she cast a glance at the two girls and Anko suddenly felt a surge of hate towards the two wannabe shinobi, in the back of her mind, the part that was still happy, she noticed that where once her curse seal would have pulsed angrily, there was now nothing "that you have been in collusion and possibly involved in a sexual relationship with said shinobi – you are aware that such actions are to be considered as treason, are you not?"

"Sexual relationship?!" she all but shrieked "what do you take me for?! The gaki is sixteen years old!" this piece of information shocked the three Chunin sitting in the room with the four elder shinobi, the so called criminal they had tried to confront was someone who not only could have killed them with ease, but was someone their own age.

"So you do not deny being in collusion with him?" Homura asked, peering at her intently through his frames.

"The council has heard of two occurrences in which the shinobi in question had made contact with me, I was not aware we were here to restate facts" she replied stiffly, only to be interrupted when Tsunade banged her fist against the desk.

"This isn't some kind of joke Anko!" she shouted "have you, or have you not had more then a professional relationship with Namikaze Naruto and have you ever given him information that may be considered detrimental to our security?!"

"It is hard not to have something more then a professional relationship with someone who has not only saved my life on more then one occasion, but has also effectively neutralized the curse seal on my person" she replied coldly, amidst the gasps of shock coming from the three elder shinobi in the room and the confused glances of the younger ones. Anko had also become aware of the ANBU that had entered the room behind her and remained silent "as to giving him information that could be detrimental to the village's security? How the hell would you expect that of me when I am trusted with vital information around here as much as any criminal outside of Konoha's walls is" she replied coldly, yet with one hundred percent truth.

"It has also been reported that you allowed the Namikaze to get away with your last mission's objective without opposition, and that you allowed the torture of two of your comrades" Koharu offered, glaring at her in an accusatory kind of way.

"You're out of your mind you old bat!" Anko yelled right back, shocking all those present "I'd like to see you _try_ and stop _three_ 'S-classed' criminals from doing _anything_ they want to do, one of them was even able to summon a dragon that completely dwarfed my most powerful snake summon in power!" she countered "Even if I wanted to try and 'stop him', there's no way I could succeed!" she paused to catch her breath, aware that Koharu was glaring heatedly at her "and in regards to these two wannabe pathetic kunoichi? They not only disregarded a direct order to not engage Namikaze should we encounter them, but they proceeded to _threaten_ him into revealing information he possessed about the location of a certain traitorous Uchiha…"

"He's NOT a traitor!" came the simultaneous yells of the two girls in the room which was promptly ignored and silenced with a glare from Tsunade.

"…and when Namikaze's companion, the one known as Haku, trapped them in some watery prison that allowed them to breathe but not escape, I had to save their sorry asses from being killed! They should be thankful I was there to get Naruto to _not_ kill them for I'm sure had anyone else asked, he wouldn't have given a shit!"

"That's a lie!"

"You're not going to _believe_ her are you?!"

The girl's shouts were once again silenced with a glare "You will_only_ speak when spoken to!" the Hokage barked "Shino, is what Mitarashi-san says true?"

­

Shino nodded "Hai, Hokage-sama, she did warn us against engaging Namikaze-san and his comrades at all should we encounter them and she did say something to Namikaze-san that caused him to release the two and leave with their prize."

"Be that as it may" Homura piped up "she still admitted to be in collusion with Namikaze Naruto, a dangerous 'S-ranked' criminal who is a threat to Konoha, we cannot be sure if what she tells us about any interactions with the _brat_ are truthful, but we can be sure of her interactions existing based on her confessions" he said, glaring down at her.

"It is the will of the council that Mitarashi Anko, in accordance to the laws of Konoha, be sentenced to execution in a month's time for treasonous actions towards Konoha and her occupants, ANBU, take her away" Koharu finished, amidst the shocked silence that immediately followed her proclamation, even the ANBU seemed shocked by the order, especially the purple haired one, she seemed the most reluctant.

"Wait…we didn't think she'd be executed…" Ino mumbled softly.

"She might deserve a punishment, but isn't this a bit much…?" Sakura too, put her two cents in.

Tsunade rubbed her temples in annoyance before glaring at the two girls "Being a shinobi is not some awesome job that brings glory and fame by protecting damsels in distress from groups of bandits – being a shinobi is being a tool for the Hokage, the sooner you realize this, the sooner you will become real shinobi. Anko-san committed an act of treason, whether you believe it or not, she confessed to it even. Such actions are _always_ punishable by death!"

Tsunade nodded at the ANBU behind Anko who now had a dead look in her eyes and set her face into a mask of neutrality "If that is your wish Hokage-sama" she said in a voice devoid of emotion as she placed her hands behind her back so the ANBU could cuff her.

Before she left, Anko cast one last look at the occupants of the room, from the three stoic and serious elder shinobi, to the shocked kunoichi and finally to the remorseful Shino who she nodded at, relaying the information that she didn't blame him for anything.

"I'm sorry Anko…" the purple haired Anko whispered behind her, but Anko ignored it and allowed herself to be lead to the prison where she would await execution. Fucking Kami did hate her; she just wanted her to have a taste of the good life before bitch slapping her real good.

A shinobi garbed in all black leapt away from the Hokage tower and eventually landed before a one armed bandaged man who was treating a Bonsai tree in his garden before kneeling down and awaiting to be addressed.

A few minutes passed as the man patiently dealt with the dwarfed tree before he turned to his company and motioned for him to follow.

The two were lead into a sealed room within the elderly cripple's house when they finally spoke.

"What news do you have for me?" Danzo asked in a gruff tone.

"Your plan succeeded without a fault Danzo-sama, Mitarashi-san is scheduled for execution in a month's time."

Danzo smirked triumphantly, he may have lost the brat's mother, but he already had the bait this time, there was no way he wouldn't bite, and when he did, he was going to be right there waiting for him.

"Good work, begin preparations, Namikaze Naruto will be in Konoha in a month's time and I will not accept failure, he _will_ be captured!"

"Hai!" the kneeling shinobi barked before leaping away to inform his comrades leaving a happy Danzo behind, things were going according to plan.

Haku watched his latest patient playing with all sorts of young children from the village with a smile that showed so much happiness it warmed his heart. When the group of three first arrived to wave country, Isaribi had been quite pessimistic in regards to Haku's research on Amachi's work on the possible outcomes it would have on the young girl's body.

To the shock of said girl, however, not three days after their arrival, Haku had performed an operation on her and several techniques listed in the research material and instead of a beautiful young woman with scaly patches covering her body, there stood a beautiful young woman with completely unblemished skin. The fact that she was still able to transform into the 'Kaima' beast and swim around in the ocean all day was a plus too.

­

Ever since being cured, or 'completed' as Haku liked to refer to it as, she had spent the majority of her time with young Inari and his friends playing tag and hide-and-seek with them.

As soon as they had arrived in wave country, they had gone to see Tazuna and his daughter Tsunami like Naruto had suggested, only to receive a cold reception – it seemed that they didn't trust shinobi all that well. That only lasted, however, as long as it took to prove that they were comrades of Naruto's. As soon as they proved this, mainly by identifying the cloak he had left Tsunami and his Pocky obsession, they were greeted into their home with open arms.

Kimimaro, while thankful for their hospitality, chose to sleep outside the village where he had set up camp so he could more easily scout the surroundings for enemy shinobi or bandits and act accordingly.

Speaking of the bone user, it seemed that with Naruto temporarily gone, he had been brooding a lot more often, what about Haku wasn't sure, but it did seem to intensify whenever Isaribi would do or say something nice to him or treat him like any young girl would treat someone of Kimimaro's looks and mystique would treat him – that is try to get his attention and get embarrassed when he looks in her direction. It was quite humorous to see the usually stoic and powerful warrior's reaction to Isaribi's behaviour, he was quite literally clueless.

His thoughts were interrupted when he felt a small tap on his shoulder coming from Tsunami. The woman had recovered well from her ordeal, of which Naruto had not spoken of but Haku had guessed anyway, however she never left her house anymore alone or without some form of protection – he could understand her paranoia completely. It was just a miracle she hadn't been impregnated during her attack.

"Um, Haku-san, a weird shinobi wearing a green hat and big black glasses gave me a letter…I'm not sure it's for me though…" she said with a frown, one that was mirrored by Haku. The shinobi mentioned sounded like a courier-nin, but who would send him a letter via such a public agency?

Taking the letter offered by Tsunami, Haku read the front of the letter and sure enough, it was indeed addressed to Tsunami. Seeing that it was already opened though, he figured she read it and decided it wasn't hers.

_Dearest Haku-chan,_

_Our last date was the happiest time of my life and I just can't get your curvaceous body, firm and supple behind, and pert breasts out of my mind._

_I hope I'm not being too forward, but I was wondering if we could meet up again some time and get to know each other a little better – maybe on a date?_

_If you agree, I swear on my blood that I will be a perfect gentleman and show you a good time – that is, if you want a perfect gentleman, I can be a beast too, if that's what you like. I have it on good authority that you like to be dominated._

_Faithfully yours and awaiting a favourable response,_

_Inuzuka Kiba_

Haku's eyebrow hadn't stopped twitching from the moment he began to read the letter. Recognizing it for what it was, especially with the out of place mentioning of blood that didn't fit what so ever, and made practically no sense where it was placed, Haku nicked his thumb with a kunai and smeared blood across the letter before applying chakra to it.

The letter's contents immediately began to change to match Naruto's familiar handwriting and style.

_Haku-chan,_

_I'm sorry if you got excited at the prospect of my letter, it was wrong of me and I understand if you wish to seek retribution – not that I'll let you have it, I merely understand. Love is not something one should joke about, ever, so perhaps I will concede the fact that I may have gone too far._

_For that, I am sorry._

_Worry not though, I'm sure there are plenty of young, strapping men that will enjoy the company of a cross-dressing homosexual such as yourself, I mean, were I gay, and into that kind of thing, and had a fetish of feminine looking men, and had no one else on the planet to turn to, you'd definitely be on the top of my 'to bang' list._

_Don't get your hopes up though._

_­_

_If you're reading this, you've obviously realized that it was a coded message, congratulations, I would give you a box of Pocky as a reward, but I'm currently eating them and refuse to give any up to a non-believer._

_I am, at the moment, at the hidden location we discussed near the place one of my brothers lives at. I will wait here for you but you should know we will be having company, I think you already know who it is, if not, you will soon enough._

_Know this though, should you decide to bring your latest pet project along, she will not be allowed to leave the premises until I am certain she can defend herself and the location's secret. Should you decide to bring her anyway, you should know that she will have company and not be alone. You may have reservations about doing such a thing, but I assure you that the location is more then capable of housing two occupants for over a decade should the need arise, I did, after all, build these hideouts as a means to escape for long periods of time if necessary without the chance of being traced. _

_Bring her or not, I don't care, but you should come here as soon as possible for I have news I will not divulge over a letter._

_Give Tsunami-san and her family my best regards_

_With 'non-gay' Love,_

_Pocky Master_

Haku sweat dropped at the way he signed off the letter, but it was obvious who it was from. He was a little miffed though that even in his letters; he still finds a way to piss him off.

"This letter was indeed addressed to me Tsunami-san and it was sent by Naruto" he said with a pleasant smile which showed none of the thoughts racing through his mind in regards to what Naruto could want to tell them and who exactly Naruto has in his custody.

"Oh, that's nice, did he say anything important?"

Haku smiled "Nothing but his current location and that he gives you his best regards. I thank you for your hospitality Tsunami-san, but I'm afraid my comrades and I will be leaving today."

"Oh" Tsunami said, sounding disappointed "oh well, I guess it can't be helped, but do visit again sometime, Inari loved playing with your friend and you're good company to have around!"

Haku nodded and left with Isaribi to go and find Kimimaro.

"When are you going to teach me another jutsu?" called the impatient voice from the shadows, his crimson eyes shining malevolently with three black tomoe marks in each iris.

The serpentine man sitting on his throne scowled at the brat's insolence. He had been letting the fool of a boy get away with too much while around here, and while he was more important then the rest of his pawns, he was not so important that he can outright demand anything from him and remain unscathed.

Though, he supposed Sasuke did remind him a lot of himself when he was a child – a, good times…

"Have you given much thought to your goals Sasuke-kun" Orochimaru countered, angering the ebony haired youth.

"Every single day since he killed my family, now stop wasting my time and train me!" Orochimaru answered the youth with a backhand to the face that arrived quicker then Sasuke could see.

"Do not get smart with me boy, I will teach you when I wish to teach you, no sooner nor later" he said menacingly, killing intent oozing from him. Sasuke managed a shaky nod.

"I didn't mean that goal, I was referring to the goal of resurrecting your clan" he clarified, as Sasuke's eyes widened in realization.

"I'll think about it after I kill Itachi" he said gruffly, as he picked himself up off the floor and dusted himself off.

"And what if Itachi should kill you? Will you just let your clan die out?" he asked in a disgustingly sweet voice.

­

Sasuke paused as Orochimaru made his point. He didn't like to admit it, but his brother was one of, if not the most powerful shinobi he knew, it was completely possibly that he could indeed get killed should he go up against him. Then what? Will he be the one known forever as the person who let the Uchiha clan simply die because he didn't have the foresight to plan ahead?

"It seems I will be having a need for a woman then, won't I?" Sasuke asked with a smirk that was mirrored by Orochimaru.

Haku and Isaribi arrived in a clearing that was just recently drenched in blood; various sized and shaped bones were scattered all over the place and impaled into trees. Kimimaro was standing in the middle of the clearing with his loose top now hanging down from his waist, towards the floor, leaving his pale chest bare to the world.

Isaribi, at the sight, flushed in embarrassment and looked away immediately while quietly stealing glances at the older boy while Haku sighed.

"Another gang of bandits looking to profit off of the town then?" ha asked, his comrades prowess in battle astounding him. Each death blow on the dead bandits' bodies were perfectly aimed and placed, and all within an extremely short time of each other, he had killed these fifty or so bandits in the span of a few seconds with merely Kenjutsu…

"They were planning a raid, yes" Kimimaro answered "why are you here?"

"Naruto called for us" he answered "he has someone with him he is interrogating and he also said he has something he needs to tell us, something of import" he said, with a slight twitch of his brow as he recalled the letter's words exactly.

"Then let us go meet Naruto-sama" Kimimaro said instantly "where are we headed?"

"Naruto, with the copious amounts of money he has obtained through missions, bounties and…other ventures, purchased several houses that he himself built in various different locations. These houses are, according to him, quite large and well hidden. Their purpose is to serve as a hiding location should the need ever arise for one, the problem is, should you go to one, the secret of its location is sealed within your mind…" Haku trailed off, looking at Isaribi "Isaribi-chan, he says that if you choose to accompany us there, you won't be able to leave until he is certain there is no threat of you revealing the information to others willing or unwillingly, so you will be, in effect, a prisoner – though I assure you, you will be treated well and have company, you just won't be able to leave…"

Isaribi looked down with a frown on her face "What other choice do I have?" she said in a quiet voice "I have no family, you're the closest thing to one I've ever had, which is pathetic really…since I've only known you for a little over a week" she paused then let out a shuddering breath "you said I won't be treated bad right? And I'll have company? Then I'll come, it's not like I have anywhere else to go, right?"

Haku nodded sadly and motioned for her to get on his back "We're headed to wind country, it will take us a few days so hold on tight, let's go Kimimaro."

"Hai" he answered before the two of them vanished in a burst of speed.

Thousand of thoughts were seemingly going through her mind at once at the sight of the Pocky eating boy before her, though some of the more notable ones stood out amongst the rest:

'_Is he going to kill me?'_

'_I wouldn't really blame him…'_

'_What am I doing here?'_

'_How could I be so careless as to get caught like that?'_

'_Why did he capture me instead of just kill me?'_

'_Is he going to torture me?'_

'_Wafer, fruit and chocolate should never go together…'_

'_He's grown up to be handsome…just like his father…'_

­

'_Would he be ashamed with me?'_

'_No, I did the right thing!'_

'_Those eyes, so apathetic yet it's like they're peering into my very soul…'_

"Why aren't I bound?" she hadn't realized she voiced her last thought until her dry and raspy voice assaulted her senses.

Naruto, without getting up, reached down beside him and tossed her the bottle of water he had picked up from the cooler beside him.

"Do you want to be bound?" he countered "I'm not very well versed on kinks these days but I'm certain that fantasizing about bondage sessions with your long lost son is pretty far out there…" he trailed off, waiting for her reaction.

'_Great, he's a smartass; well he probably gets that from me…'_

'_As if he could have gotten anything from me, I abandoned him!'_

Gratefully gulping down the water, wondering why she was so hot and where exactly she was to warrant such a high temperature, she looked back to Naruto, who was still gazing at her unflinchingly.

"Where are we?" she asked, after organizing her thoughts somewhat. Red eyes met red as the silence stretched throughout the whole room, Kushina was amazed at how unsettling just being in her son's presence could be.

"Wind Country" he answered, as Kushina now wondered just how long she had been knocked out for.

"What do you want from me?" she asked, her voice still raspy but not as much as before.

"Information" he answered, being as vague as ever. He was either ignorant to the feelings whirling within Kushina or he just didn't care it seemed.

"What kind of information?" she asked with trepidation, did he think she was going to give up Konoha's secrets so easily.

"I don't need any information about Konoha" he said, reading her like a book "nor do I need you to get it for me should I find a need to get some" he finished, peering at her as he munched on his Pocky "and stop looking at my Pocky like that, it did nothing to you."

This was what Jiraiya warned her about? He may have been able to surprise her but he was just some snot nosed punk with an attitude. Did he think that he intimidated her enough for her not to try and escape? Especially when she wasn't bound?

"I wouldn't do that if I were you" he cautioned, earning a dumfounded look on his mother's face "try to escape that is; not only could I kill you before you leave the property, I could also let you go, and trust me, that would be a fate far worse then what I could ever do to you if such a thing happens."

Kushina pondered on her son's…no, this man's harsh words "What are you talking about?"

"You are in the unfortunate position of being related to me" he elaborated "I have many enemies who are misinformed that by capturing you or doing harm to you, I will come running to save you – whether its true or not doesn't matter, they believe it and will act as if it were true."

"Who's they?" she asked with a frown, she had the protection of two Sannin and she wasn't exactly a pushover herself, she doubted she was in any kind of danger.

"This should give you an answer" Naruto pulled a bloodied bag from behind the chair he was sitting on and tossed it to her feet. Reaching out to the bag with a shaking hand, she swiftly opened it and peered inside only to look away quickly at the sight of the four heads within, four Konoha shinobi heads.

"You killed Konoha shinobi?" she asked with a pale face "What point has this proven other then showing me you're a monster?!" she yelled, getting angry.

­

Naruto tilted his head to the side "A very efficient monster" he corrected "and those aren't just regular shinobi, they belong to Danzo's ROOT division, a group of shinobi that have a very similar function to ANBU but only answer to Danzo…"

"I know who ROOT are!" she snapped, still glaring at him "that doesn't answer why you had to kill them!"

"Oh?" Naruto countered "let's forget the fact that they attacked first and focus on where I found these four" he said, kicking the bag "they encountered me the second I left your not-so-well hidden property – do you understand what that means?" he asked in a very slow and clear voice, as if he were talking to a child.

Kushina glared at her supposed son with fury in her eyes "I'm not an idiot!" she countered, causing Naruto to smirk, this woman was truly amusing.

"I never said you were, you came to that conclusion by yourself" he shook his head "do you have any more questions before I begin?"

Kushina's anger quickly faded only to be replaced by curiosity "Begin with what?"

Naruto got up from his chair and removed his cloak all together before sitting back down, leaning forward somewhat "Why my own interrogation of course, you got to have one, its only fair I do too."

"I'm not telling you anything about Konoha and I'm not answering any of your questions!" she hissed.

Naruto sighed and shook his head "You're not listening" he chided "I don't need you, of all people, to tell me anything about Konoha – if I wanted, I could find out the colour of Tsunade's panties any day of the year and she'd never be the wiser" he said with a sigh "it's black today, by the way, she always wears black on Tuesdays" Kushina, being a woman, was about to go into 'anti-pervert' mode before her curiosity got the better of her.

"Then what could I possibly tell you if it has nothing to do with Konoha?"

"You will tell me everything you know about my sister of course" he answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Why? So you can kidnap her like you did me? I don't think so!" she hollered back as Naruto cleaned out his ears with his pinkie finger.

"You don't really have a choice in the matter" he answered "and I hardly think you're in a position to judge what I am to do to her, seeing as you're the one that _lost_ her in the first place – how's finding her going by the way?"

Kushina grit her teeth in anger, trying to ignore the last barb at her "What do you mean I don't have a choice in the matter?" she questioned through clenched teeth.

Naruto's laid back demeanour disappeared instantly and his face turned hard "Do not test me" he warned "don't make the assumption that you are more valuable to me then she is, I will find out what you know of her whereabouts one way or the other – you're a shinobi, I think you understand what I'm saying" he said.

Kushina suddenly paled as the killing intent leaking off of him was like nothing she'd ever felt, and she'd been around plenty of strong shinobi fighting side by side with Minato.

"Y-you'd torture your own _mother_ for information? When Jiraiya said you were dangerous, I always took it with a grain of salt, I mean, no son of Minato's and mine could ever be evil…" she began to ramble until she was interrupted by an incredibly hard slap to the face.

"Focus" Naruto said, his voice and slap snapping her out of her rambling "We may be related by blood, but you're not my mother."

Kushina suddenly lunged at him, intent on disabling him so she could escape only to be met with two crimson eyes that flashed once before her body froze.

"Don't do that again" he warned "now tell me what you know of my sister."

"Why are you doing this?" she said, silent tears leaking from her eyes "I didn't mean to hurt you when I left you, BUT I HAD NO CHOICE!" she hollered through her paralysis "Your father may have an abundance of faith in his precious village, BUT I DIDN'T!" more tears were streaking down her face "I knew they would treat you like shit! And by proxy, ­

Karin-chan and I as well; whether we stayed or not, the one factor that would never change is the fact that you would have been treated like the Kyuubi reincarnate! I couldn't allow Karin-chan to be raised in an environment like that!"

Naruto sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose "Yes, and you did a splendid job of raising Karin" Naruto retorted "care to show me the baby pictures?"

Kushina winced at the barb "You know you would have done the same thing…" she said, her voice naught but a whisper "why are you doing this to me? I've suffered enough…I've had to live with the decision I've made in regards to you all my life, then I had to live with losing Karin-chan for only a little less time…regardless of what you may think…I do love you, even though I don't know you…how could a mother not?"

Naruto sighed again, this was annoying "Spare me the dramatics, you seem to be operating under the illusion that I wish Karin harm, where that couldn't be further from the truth" he said, finally getting annoyed with the hysterical woman – she was right, he didn't want to torture her, but that was because she was an innocent that was in the wrong place at the wrong time, not because she was his 'mother'.

"W-what are you talking about? I've seen the bingo books, you're become a criminal!"

"For a supposed ex-ANBU captain, you're not very smart" Naruto drawled, raising Kushina's ire towards him "You seem to have pegged the village's reaction towards me to a tee when you were deciding to take Karin away, yet you think that after years of being away that their feelings towards me would have changed" he said in a dry voice "My only crime is existing" he clarified "well, that and killing several of their hunter-nin, but in my defence, they attacked me first" he said with a smirk.

"Then what do you want with Karin?" she whispered, her head lowered after she fell back in her chair when the paralysis wore off, her bangs were covering her face leaving it in the dark.

"To find her of course" he said with a shrug "she's my twin sister, do I need a reason to want to meet her, or rescue her if need be should the circumstances warrant such a thing?"

"How do I know you're not lying…foxes are known to be cunning…" she bit out, causing Naruto to snort in amusement.

"You don't" he said simply "but as I said, I can get the information out of you willingly or unwillingly" he said with a shrug "I can implant a seal in your brain that when activated, will cause you to do my bidding, you will completely be my puppet, I figured I'd give you a chance to do so willingly though."

Wincing at the obviously gruesome procedure that would involve, Kushina took a few deep breath before speaking "When I left Konoha, I travelled for a bit before I eventually settled down in one place…on my way through Rice Country though, I was attacked by a kid, he had silver hair and seeing glasses" she sighed "I underestimated him and he used that to his advantage, he was able to paralyse me with some medical technique before making away with Karin-chan… Jiraiya has been looking into this for years and has come up with nothing, what makes you think you can?"

Instead of answering her, Naruto was looking out the window in the small room with a look of pure, unbridled fury on his face. Kushina would have taken several stumbling steps back had she not already been sitting. This was why her son was labelled as an 'S-rank' criminal - just seeing him angry was a terrifying thing.

"He's outlived his usefulness…" she heard him mumble, as his eyes narrowed. The hate clearly visible on his features, surprisingly, looked foreign to Kushina, like it didn't belong.

"You've given me more then enough information, I suggest you try not to leave the property less you want to be tracked down and killed like a fox in Konoha" he paused and locked gazes wit her "Danzo isn't the only one after you, but the other person has no interests in 'capturing' you, he will kill you the second he finds you, Karin too, so unless you want to die, you'd do best to stay here, no one will find you."

Before he was able to stalk out of the room, Kushina called out to him.

"Wait!" he paused at the door frame "for what it's worth…I'm sorry…I want to get to know you…you know?" she offered a small smile.

Naruto's expression didn't change "You are nothing to me, I don't know you, I don't want to know you, I don't need to know you – the only reason you're still alive is because I'm not sure if Karin feels the same way" he paused "I suppose I should be thankful that you did abandon me in that pitiful village though, for had you not, I would have never met Sasori-sensei and would have ended up a random guineapig for Orochimaru or some weak Konoha shinobi" and with those words, he left Kushina alone in the room.

­

Those words, if Kushina was honest with herself, had hurt her more then a kunai to the heard would. She knew that this would happen one day should she ever meet him again, but she did the right thing damn it!

It didn't make the pain in her chest lessen though.

Haku, Kimimaro and Isaribi stood at a peculiar rocky cliff-face that stood out like a sore-thumb amidst the sandy dunes surrounding it; this was the way to one of Naruto's houses, the one he was supposedly at.

Walking around the cliff face, Haku kept tapping on the hard rock until he found what he was looking for. Looking around and reaching out with his senses to make sure they weren't followed, Haku began a long string of hand seals before stopping on the ram seal. Isaribi and Kimimaro watched as a section of the wall phased out, allowing them to enter the rocky cliff-face.

"This way" Haku said quietly, motioning them into the cave before reapplying the technique hiding the entrance.

The cave was lit with several dozen torches all following the rocky stairs leading straight up. After what Isaribi would swear was at least a million steps, they reached an opening in the cave that was bathed in light; when they exited the cave, they couldn't contain their gasps.

Beautiful, was the only word to describe the mansion that stood before them. Traditional Japanese style with grass, trees, water features and flowers everywhere! How the hell did he manage that in the middle of wind country?! Virtually a desert country!

"There just so happens to be an underground spring beneath this mountain, it was just a matter of rerouting the water to here" came a voice from behind them, causing Isaribi to shriek in surprise while Haku and Kimimaro merely turned to him and nodded.

"Welcome to my home" he said with a smirk as he led the group of three into the house.

After they entered the beautiful furnished home, the four took seats on the couches provided.

"Aren't you going to offer us tea?" Haku asked with a frown.

"No?" Naruto answered "you have hands, kitchen's that way" he said, pointing to a door which no doubt led to the kitchen.

"Naruto-sama, we have information that we happened upon on our way here that may interest you…" Kimimaro interjected before a bickering contest broke out, one that Naruto would no doubt win.

"Oh? What's that?" he said, as he removed a Green Tea flavoured Pocky stick.

"Anko-san has been sentenced to be executed in three weeks time for treason" he said bluntly, causing Naruto's pocky to halt half-way to his mouth before he resumed eating.

"Well, that's interesting" he conceded "no doubt Danzo is using her as the bait seeing as using my mother didn't work" he said "speaking of which, she's around, delightful woman when she's not being annoying" he motioned randomly around in indication, while he seemed to be deep in thought. His eyes then landed on Isaribi, who seemed to be looking at him with a little fear.

"She knows she can't leave right?" he said to Haku, who nodded curtly "It's not as bad as it sounds" he shrugged "I even have a natural hot spring in the back, just make sure you keep it clean when I'm not around" he said with a shrug "there's also enough scrolls storing food in the kitchen to last a decade, the red haired woman who also lives here can show you how to use them" he explained before standing up.

"What about Anko-san?" Haku asked, wondering about his thoughts regarding the purple haired woman.

"We're going to rescue her of course, I did not spend all those hours learning how to fix her cursed seal for her only to have her kick the bucket immediately after doing so" he commented with a frown.

Haku smiled coyly at him "Sure, it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that you like her."

Naruto nodded "I'm glad you understand."

­

Naruto decided to show them around the house before he turned in for bed; he had two weeks to plan before he set out for Konoha.

Two weeks had passed as the trio of shinobi either trained or relaxed before their trip to Konoha, they had their plan set out – foolproof of course, with their skill levels – and ready to go. Isaribi had settled down in the 'wind manor' well enough, as the occupants of the house began to call it.

Kushina, upon first seeing the guests had mixed reactions. First, she was glad to have company, as living alone in the house with a son that wants nothing to do with her was starting to get awkward, but then there was her hesitance when she realized that the older two were partners of Naruto's.

That all flew out the window when she actually talked with them. Kimimaro seemed especially cold towards her, but it was obvious to see the devotion he has towards her son, for what reason, she wasn't sure but it was there. Then there was Haku, the boy who couldn't help but be nice to everyone, Kushina enjoyed spending time with the water manipulator, it let her know that at least Naruto kept some nice friends around.

In Isaribi though, she found something to dote on as if she were her own daughter. She, at first, felt guilty for doing so seeing as she _had_ a daughter, but the way in which Isaribi had led her life, without family and only having known scorn, forced her to put such thoughts to the back of her mind – Isaribi needed her, and she needed Isaribi. It also helped that they were going to be spending a lot of their spare time together…

"I don't care what you two do" Naruto began as he, Kimimaro and Haku were about to leave "so long as you don't leave or damage anything you can't fix, you can do what you want" and without so much as another backwards glance, he disappeared in a burst of speed using Shunshin. Kimimaro nodded towards the two before following and Haku bid them a hearty farewell before following behind Kimimaro.

Kushina watched the position her son had just been occupying with glassy eyes.

Tsunade watched with a stony face as Anko was led out in shackled to the village square surrounded by two ANBU units. Children were kept home on this day for no one needed them to see a public execution. It was the will of the council to execute her in such a way to discourage any treasonous acts in the future and while she admitted such a thing was barbaric, it would definitely be effective in quelling any insubordination in the future.

As Anko was forced to kneel before the Hokage, she held her head high, not willing to let the village get the last laugh and let them think they had broken her. If she was going to die, goddamnit, she would do so with her head held high. It would be a shame she would never be able to 'reward' the Namikaze brat like she had planned though, the gaki was growing into a hunk of a man.

Many of the spectators looked on in confusion as a light blush adorned Anko's cheeks.

"Mitarashi Anko, you have been found guilty of treasonous actions against Konoha, and by proxy, the Land of Fire. Your punishment is to be executed by means of beheading, as is the will of the shinobi elder council and the Hokage – do you have any last words?"

Anko looked up towards the sky after Tsunade finished her little bullshit speech. Several thoughts were running through Anko's head, such a perfect opportunity to go out with a bang, say something worthy of the reputation she had built up for herself. She looked to the crowd to see, to her surprise, Kurenai crying beside Sarutobi Asuma and Kakashi, who by some freak occurrence, did not have his nose buried in his book.

When she was just about to make her witty last statement – in her opinion anyway – she noticed something. The soft rain that was drizzling down on them had turned harder and was continuing to do so, almost at an unnatural pace.

"It's raining pretty hard…"

Shaking her head, Tsunade motioned towards the ANBU with his katana to finish it. As the blade sliced though the air, many were shocked to see it stop, literally, on Anko's neck. None were more shocked however then Anko herself who could feel the cold blade caressing her skin.

"Do it!" barked Tsunade, only to be met with a struggling ANBU.

"I can't Hokage-sama, I can't move!" the ANBU replied with worry in his voice.

Upon closer inspection, Tsunade saw that the ANBU's lower body was frozen solid, same with his arms; if he continued to struggle…

­

"STOP!" Tsunade yelled to the ANBU, but it was too late; with an extra violent jerk, the ANBU's legs snapped at the shins, causing him to fall flat on his face with his arms out stiff. There was no scream as the ANBU's body was already frozen over.

"None of you should try moving less you suffer a similar fate" came a voice from the roof of one of the buildings. Amidst the freezing rain, Tsunade looked up to see none other then Haku who had his hands in a seal.

"Demonic Ice Mirrors" all the villagers and shinobi heard the boy say before literally hundreds of ice mirrors materialized out of the water on the ground, surrounding the shocked Anko in a dome of ice as they combined to form one big dome.

Konoha wouldn't just let a high profile prisoner go that easily though; four extra and completely dry ANBU units arrived and surrounded Haku who merely melted into the mirror and appeared on the other side, disappearing from view.

The ice cold rain's effects had finally ended with Haku's departure so Tsunade aimed a super strength punch at the dome's surface while the ANBU who knew Katon techniques launched as many as they could. Tsunade was shocked when the dome didn't break on contact but merely cracked in a few places.

Their efforts were for naught though as the dome completely shattered from the top releasing an elephant sized blue drake that flew into the skies at high speeds with Anko in its claws. The remaining ANBU units who could still fight pursued on foot, launching kunai and shuriken where they could while the dragon dodged nimbly through the rain of weapons and batted some away with its club like tail.

The pursuing ANBU however had to come to an abrupt halt when a huge bone drill came out of behind a tree and pierced one of their comrades in the leg.

The pierced shinobi fell to the ground with a yell only to reveal itself as a piece of wood – he had escaped in the last second with a Kawarimi.

Kimimaro, however, looked unconcerned as he strode out from his hiding place looking like, to the shock of the shinobi present, an avatar of death as his right arm was manipulated by him to work as a spear.

"Sawarabi no Mai" before the ANBU could react, bones seemed to _grow_ from Kimimaro's legs _into_ the ground, only to resurface all around the clearing in huge white columns of bone, creating the effect of some sort of bone forest.

"Turn back now or you will die" he said in his monotonous voice. When the ANBU responded to his warning by withdrawing their weapons and getting into a defensive position, he merely sighed and disappeared into one of the 'bone trees'.

The ANBU were systematically torn apart as Kimimaro randomly appeared from different locations only to skewer and shred them with his bone weapons, unable to be hit as he'd only disappear once again into one of his bone constructs and move on. It didn't take long for them all to be killed, allowing Kimimaro to dispel the technique and leave, his part in the plan to distract or remove the ANBU tail completed.

Haku was flying away from Konoha at breakneck speeds on his summoned dragon mount with at least a dozen battalions of ANBU still hot on his trail, chasing him on the ground – the fact that they were able to keep up is a testament to their skill and stamina.

What they didn't realize though is that it hardly mattered; Naruto's plan had already worked.

Suddenly coming to a stop, Haku and his summon wheeled around to face their pursuers.

"Androgonos… show them the meaning of word cold" he commanded as the dragon's eyes flashed an otherworldly blue, signalling the beginning of its attack.

The ANBU approaching suddenly felt a chill in the air – a chill of the likes they had never felt living in the Land of Fire. It became clear where the source of this cold was coming from when they reached their now stationary target, a target that was now facing them with his mount charging up an attack.

The dragon held its large clawed hands in a hare seal before puffing up its chest and exhaling in a large display of force. The harsh winds that had already picked up as the dragon built up its attack tripled in intensity. A large blizzard suddenly appeared from the dragon's mouth as he continued to blow with all its might in the direction of Konoha and their pursuers.

­

"Hold it for a little while longer Androgonos! I have a plan!" the dragon nodded its head ever so slightly as it struggled to hold the attack that was keeping the ANBU at bay by forcing them to take cover. Haku began a ridiculously long string of hand seals, going at a speed where his hands were nothing but a blur. After what had to be the one hundred and fiftieth hand seal, he stopped and raised one hand in the air while using the other to support it by grabbing his wrist and keeping it steady.

Suddenly, a light blue energy gathered in the palm of Haku's hand in the shape of a ball – no bigger then a baseball. Haku continued to hold his wrist in an effort to keep his arm steady as the ball in his hand expanded in size until it stopped when it was the size of an overly large beach ball.

"Hyouton: Diamond Dust!" Haku yelled with effort before hurling the large ice blue ball of energy at the ground in front of the squadrons of ANBU. At first the ANBU thanked their lucky stars thinking the boy had missed, but that only lasted as long as it took for the attack to make contact with the ground, for immediately after it did, in an instant, everything in front of the point of impact for over one hundred meters and expanding in a cone shape was covered in ice. Those ANBU who weren't smart enough to avoid the attack were instantly encased in a forest of rock hard ice.

Haku exhaled, calming down after such a powerful attack and exertion of energy before raising his hand and holding is out before him, palm up with his fingers ready to click.

"I'm sorry" was all he said before clicking his fingers with his middle finger and thumb. Instantly, the ice that had encased a good portion of the forest before Haku exploded in a beautiful yet deadly display of diamond like Ice particles, destroying any shinobi, plant, or animal who had been unlucky enough to be frozen by the initial attack.

The remaining ANBU who were looking murderously to Haku were shocked to see that the unconscious Anko in Androgonos's talons disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"It was a diversion!" yelled the head ANBU in disbelief and dawning horror, they were _way_ too far away from the village to get back in time!

Haku and Androgonos flew higher into the sky and made their way back to their designated meeting location; his part of the plan was done.

Immediately after Haku erected the dome of ice mirrors around Anko, Naruto burst out from the ground underneath her, created a Kage Bunshin and had it henge into Anko before taking the original back underground with her. With the destruction caused by Haku and his ice mirrors, no one would notice a small hole in the ground that was almost entirely covered up when he resubmerged himself.

Using a barrier of chakra around both Anko's body and his own to be able to move freely through the dirt, Naruto sped off in the opposite direction Haku travelled, putting as much distance between Konoha and him as possible. To make sure this all went smoothly, he had made sure to knock Anko out with a well placed Genjutsu so she wouldn't complain or give their position away with a flare of her chakra.

After travelling underground for ten minutes, Naruto felt it safe to come back to the surface. When he did so, he estimated he was roughly fifty miles west of Konoha while Haku escaped in the south-eastern direction. Hefting Anko on his back, Naruto sped off towards wind country, determined to get as far as possible before he had to take a rest – Haku and Kimimaro will be waiting for him there when he arrived.

Danzo sat in his office waiting for the report of their successful capture of the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki when a knock was heard on his door.

"Enter"

The door opened and three of his ROOT agents rushed in and knelt down before their leader "We have returned, Danzo-sama" they intoned simultaneously.

"I can see that; what is the status of the Jinchuuriki?" he asked, his impatience getting the better of him.

The three ROOT agents exchanged glances with each other, from their masks it was impossible to tell but Danzo had a sneaking suspicion that they were nervous.

"We pursued the shinobi who escaped with Mitarashi-san, thinking we would find Namikaze-san wherever she was taken to" began the first one only to be cut off by the middle shinobi.

"We were lead into an ambush, the first squadron was completely annihilated by someone who uses bones as weapons and the second was almost completely annihilated also by the one who controls ice and has the dragon contract. After ­

cutting our forces down to forty percent, Mitarashi-san disappeared in a puff of smoke from the dragon's talons; it is our estimation that we were following a shadow clone the entire time…"

"Namikaze-san used his two comrades to lure the majority of Konoha's forces away from the village in the opposite direction he would have escaped from with the prisoner, we have sent our people to pursue, but we doubt they'll be able to catch them by now if he is as good as you say he is, Danzo-sama."

Several people in Konoha all looked towards the heart Konoha were a loud, guttural, scream of fury erupted from.

Inuzuka Kiba looked in that direction, his hearing better then others, as he winced.

"Someone must be pissed…"

Naruto arrived in his home to find Haku and Kimimaro waiting for him.

"Did everything go according to plan?" Naruto asked as he deposited Anko on the couch. Hearing that they had guests, Kushina and Isaribi came into the main room to see Anko unconscious on the couch with Naruto, Kimimaro and Haku conversing quietly. Isaribi used what little first-aid knowledge Haku had taught her to begin treating Anko to make her more comfortable. She didn't have any visible wounds other then a few small cuts, so she quickly cleaned them up and applied some band-aids over the wounds while applying a wet cloth to her forehead.

"Before our little prison break in Konoha, you said you had something to tell us?" Haku said in a quiet voice, knowing that there were others in the room. Naruto, seeing this also motioned towards the back where Haku and Kimimaro followed.

"I wanted to tell you two that I've called in a favour and that we'll be splitting up for some time" this news shocked Haku and Kimimaro but they remained silent so Naruto could talk "Kimimaro and I will continue to search for Orochimaru's base on our own while you, Haku, will be training in Suna should that old bat accept…"

"What old bad?" Haku asked with confusion, Kimimaro seemed pleased with the arrangement though as he too wished to find Orochimaru's new base.

"Her name is Chiyo; she is an elder in Sunagakure and a very renowned medic-nin. Kimimaro and I will mostly be doing information gathering, quick assassination and espionage mission until we find Orochimaru, and those are three areas in which you do not excel in. Instead, I figured I could call in a favour from Chiyo-san and get her to train you in the more advanced medical arts…"

"I learned mostly from the scrolls you have on Tsunade's medical techniques, I thought she was the best medic in the world?" he asked, suddenly confused.

"She is" he agreed "but that doesn't mean she's the only good one – make no mistake, the scrolls I gave you are just the tip of the iceberg in regards to her true medicinal skills, what any skilled medic should do is get a basis for all kinds of medicine and then specialize in a field of expertise – Tsunade's is poison and antidote creation while Chiyo's is cell regeneration" he explained "Sasori-sensei was her grandson, I plan on delivering what little possessions of his I still have and information on him to her in exchange for her training you – she should accept."

Haku nodded, if a little hesitantly "How long will you two be gone on your mission then?" he asked as Naruto and Kimimaro shared a look.

"Two and a half years, maybe, but no more then three" Naruto answered "This isn't as simple as finding my mother, Orochimaru continuously changes bases every sixth months and whenever he feels there is a threat to his security. If it were that simple, Akatsuki would have killed him already, and believe me, they haven't stopped trying…"

"How are you going to find him then?" Haku asked with confusion as Naruto shrugged.

"We'll travel until we find several Oto shinobi" he began "we'll abduct them without killing them and I'll place seal markers somewhere on their person, I'm not sure how yet, but it will have to be in some way that Orochimaru will not find it and it will have to be placed on more then a dozen shinobi to maximize the accuracy of the findings – it's easier said then done, of course…"

Haku nodded as he looked towards the house. Kimimaro was the first to break the silence though "What of them?" he asked, motioning towards the three in the house.

"I'll leave Anko here with Isaribi and my mother, she'll be pissed, no doubt, but alive" he said with a shrug "get some rest, we leave tomorrow, Kimimaro, make sure to pack for an extended mission."

­

"Hai Naruto-sama" he disappeared to do just that leaving Haku and Naruto alone.

"You know, this will be the first time in a while we'll be separated for so long since we met" Haku said in a quiet voice, but he was surprised when Naruto sighed in annoyance.

"Haku, make sure you hear me now, I am not repeating myself, I will not now, nor ever, want to sleep with you, I think its best you set your sights on someone more attainable" he finished, reminding Haku just how annoying he could be.

"I was trying to be serious!" Haku barked, as Naruto smirked at him. Haku didn't like that smirk.

"Look at it this way, you'll be able to see that incredibly butch and manly girlfriend of yours more often" he almost laughed outright when Haku flushed in embarrassment, almost.

"Wait, SHE'S NOT BUTCH OR MANLY!" Haku hollered as Naruto ignored him.

"Hmm, you say something?"

Naruto, Haku and Kimimaro left before Anko woke up the next morning, informing the house's current occupants that they wouldn't be back for some time. Kushina had looked like she wanted to say something, but Naruto merely ignored her and left before she could, she would have plenty of time to talk when he found Karin.

They now stood outside Sunagakure, approaching the gate guards. Naruto had warned Haku about changing his usual shinobi attire if he was to be living in Suna. His usual clothing that was designed to endure cold weather could make things extremely uncomfortable should he choose to keep them. Instead, he had opted to wear thin and tight brown pants instead of his heavy, woollen shorts and instead of his turtle neck shirt under his Gi, he opted to wear a black, ninja mesh shirt. Naruto had forbidden him from continuing to wear his hair in a bun or pain his toe and fingernails, saying that 'there was girly and then there was gay' better to want to look like the former then the latter if you wanted him to stop giving you shit. He also had Kushina trim his fringe so he could wear his hair in a long ponytail rather then the way he used to have it. His mask was left in storage unless he would be needed to fight some times soon, it was much too easy to identify him should he continue to wear it or carry it around in public.

"Halt, what is your purpose in Sunagakure?" the guards at the gate stopped them before the great sand village. From their position, they could see that the entire village was either made of sand or hard stone, not like there was much else to use in this country.

Naruto lifted the rim of his hat and made eye contact with the two guards. Suddenly, both found themselves sunder the effects of a rather weak yet effective Genjutsu causing them to slump to the ground, asleep.

"You know that wasn't necessary, we have the papers needed to get in you know" Haku said, annoyed with how weird he felt with his new look and with the situation in general.

"It wastes time" was all Naruto would say in response as he led his two companions to where he knew Chiyo and her brother to live.

On their way, Naruto was amused to see more then a few shops selling puppet materials and designs, some of which he recognized as his own, which wasn't too hard because all of his designs, puppets and gadgets were marked with the customary blue spiral signifying it as his work – his non-human works anyway…

Eventually the three shinobi arrived at a modest tower atop a hill overlooking the village with two large doors barring their entrance. Naruto gave the heavy wooden doors, probably built to whether sandstorms, three powerful knocks as they waited for the doors to open.

Eventually, the door opened on its own accord allowing them entrance. They had only taken several steps when the door closed behind them. Instantly, Kimimaro was on guard but Naruto calmed him down with a hand gesture.

"You must be Chiyo-san" Naruto called to the ceiling where a short, elderly woman stood perched on a wooden beam staring down at them.

"Do not think because we live in a village in the middle of the desert that we don't know what goes on around us _Namikaze_ Naruto" she hissed "what does the bastard son of one of our enemies want here?"

Naruto ignored the barb about his father "I am no enemy of yours, in fact, my only sensei was a man I'm sure you knew very well at one point in time, Akasuna no Sasori…"

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Chiyo's demeanour instantly changed from angry to hopeful "You know of Sasori-chan? Where is he? Is he alright?"

Naruto shook his head "He is very much dead, killed by Orochimaru if you must know" Naruto swiped some blood on a seal he had on his chest to remove a small scroll, much to the shock of those present "I'm not sure if you're aware of your grandson's nature, but not long after fleeing Sunagakure, he decided to transfer his heart and soul over to that of a puppet's body, effectively turning himself into a puppet."

Chiyo looked shocked at the information as Naruto unrolled the small scroll and unsealed its contents "I always told him he was too ambitious for his own good…" she mumbled under his breath.

Naruto then, to her shock, unsealed the body of what looked like a fourteen year old Sasori garbed in only black shinobi pants with a hole in the chest. It was clear, however, that the body was a puppet and not the real thing. She also saw him unseal Hiruko, Sasori's very first human puppet and the armour that later became his shell as he controlled his puppets. The last thing he unsealed was a small container whose contents she could only guess.

"As you may or may not have guessed, these two were Sasori's puppet body and his favourite puppet, Hiruko. This container, however, contains the very last thing that made Sasori human – his heart" he explained "all three were in stasis while sealed so are very much intact, even if they're dead. I figured you would want them as a memento to a boy you once loved" he spoke clearly to the emotional women who looked at the only remains of her grandson. Haku had to commend his friend on his manipulation skills; they were as good as always.

"No one does something like this for nothing" Chiyo said, as she cradled the three precious artefacts that were all that remained of a boy she taught everything she knew of Kugutsu to "name your price" she said with bitterness in her voice.

"It is not as steep as you may think" Naruto said in a calming voice, yet it was still as dry as ever "my friend here" he motioned to Haku "is an aspiring medic-nin - and a very good one too. All that I ask is that you teach him your arts, something I'm sure you'd like to do before you pass on, as a payment. I will leave him here with you to learn if you agree."

"Why would I teach my arts to someone who could one day use it against us and this village?" she said, bitterness in her voice. Naruto thought she had experienced one too many betrayals in her life to cause her to act like this.

"You know of my reputation and my deeds" Naruto said, it was no question "you also know that I was the one who stabilized the ridiculously weak seal you placed on your village's strongest shinobi merely because he asked me to" he motioned to Haku again "the way I see it, you owe me more then you could possibly pay – be at ease though, I have no intentions of calling on you to repay me in any way other then teaching Haku what you know and should you do it, I will consider all your debts to me cleared. You also have my word that I, or my comrades, will never commence any unwarranted hostile action towards Suna in the future."

Chiyo had already made up her mind when she saw the remains of her grandson, but hearing the boy say what he said helped ease her mind.

"This will not be easy and I will accept not slacking" Chiyo barked at Haku who nodded and bowed "Hai, Chiyo-sensei."

Naruto nodded "We're leaving Haku, good luck" Naruto and Kimimaro made their way to the exit but before completely leaving, he turned around to Haku "I hope the next time we see each other you don't ask me to be the godfather for some butch yet overly feminine child…" before Haku could retort the two were gone, leaving an annoyed ice user and a confused sensei.

Karin sat in her office, working diligently on her research regarding the curse seal – her mind was on other issues though.

She knew what that faggot Orochimaru's plans were regarding her; she knew he planned to have her breed Uchihas even before he told her. She wouldn't let that Uchiha bitch touch her though, no, she had plans set in motion that not only made sure she wouldn't be touched, but that she would never suffer a fate like her friend's…

Author's Note:

Goddamnit, I wrote this all in one night and I'm tired as fuck…

I'm sorry to those angst-loving, wrist cutting, emo teens out there who wanted to see Naruto cut out his mother's spleen and torture her for what she did to him – that will never happen so don't get your hopes up. Naruto merely sees Kushina as someone he happens to share a blood relation with, he cares no more or no less for her then he would a stranger.

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If you're mature and look at it objectively, what Kushina did with her children, given what the Sandaime would have told her at the time, was completely the right choice, no matter how hard it would have been to make. Had she remained, Naruto's situation would not have changed any other then the fact that he had a mother and sister – while such a thing would have been welcome in some regards, how welcome would it be if they were the ones who were attacks, and all because of who he has sealed within? I know if I were in the same situation, I probably would have made some more precautions to ensure Naruto's safety but I would have done the same thing – why should Karin suffer if she doesn't have to?

Next chapter will be roughly two and a half to three years in the future. Naruto will be nineteen and Haku and Kimimaro will be twenty one. Haku's new dress style may confuse you, but just think of him as looking more Uchiha-ish with brown hair instead of black. If Haku wasn't all smiles and what not, he could pass for one just as easily…

While we're on the issue of his new look, what is the name of the piece of clothing Jiraiya wears under his red vest thing, or Haku wears over his turtle neck, or Tsunade uses to cover her jubblies? Is it a Gi? It's what I've been calling it…

By the way, all original tecniques and a majority of the non-original ones are going to be done in english from now on, I just cbf using Japanese anymore...

Leave Reviews, I probably won't update this for a little while…I need to plan out what to do from here…

Adios.


	18. Chapter 18

Original Author's Note:

Original Author's Note:

It's been three years since last chapter – there's been no 'real' training on Naruto's and Kimimaro's part, they were already super strong. They have, however, received lots of experience in this time; Experience Jutsu. Naruto is nineteen, Kimimaro and Haku are twenty one, and Anko will be, let's just say, twenty eight.

Chapter 18: Dedication

"Oh fucking shit, you're not half bad for a barber" the red headed girl moaned, as he partner pumped into her with relentless thrusts. The girl in question was naked save a cap on her head, and on all fours, in an expensive hotel room, getting some special treatment from her barber lover.

"It's why you came to me" he said, grunting after he finished speaking as he continued to plough into her, taking a secret pleasure in the fact that the girl was practically moaning too much to speak coherently.

"Word is…" she moaned again as he hit one of her delicate spots "that you're the best lay around these parts, I figured I could test you out after all the shit I've fucking been through lately" she let out another moan as the barber never once slowed down his rapid pace.

"What has gotten you so tense as of late Tayuya-san?" the barber asked, as the girl began to tremble violently as her orgasm overcame her, but the barber didn't let up and continued to please her – he would do so until she passed out, that's how he got his 'reputation'.

"Oh" she moaned, coming down off her high "the snake-fag is all paranoid lately because he can't fucking relocate – nngh – got I hate the fucker" she responded through more moaning and grunting.

"Is Orochimaru-san feeling sick lately?" he asked, not sounding all that interested as his powerful thrusts continued. The air was saturated with the profound stench of sweat, sex and cologne while the only other sound, other then their voices, was the continuous smacking noises created every time the barber's pelvis slammed into Tayuya's rear.

"You could say that" she grunted "it happens this time every three years" she moaned loudly when he slapped her behind "all his operations are put on hold until he deals with it and his little gimp medic cock-boy gets it fixed" she said crudely through her bliss "Oh my fucking Kami Shinji, put it in my ass, you cocksucker" she begged, as Shinji did just that – he was out to please after all.

After squeezing his incredibly large meat through her extremely tight behind, using the juices from her other hole as a lubricant, Shinji slowed his pace until she got used to it. It was important she enjoyed herself as much as possible, and by the sounds of her intensified moaning, he was doing an awesome job.

Shinji remained silent as he gradually picked up his pace, allowing Tayuya to speak if she wanted to, his lovers always talked when he fucked them; after all, they were usually at it for a rather long time.

"I swear, if I have to put up with any more fucking ridiculous, pussy ass, bodyguard assignments for his little Uchiha breeder, I'm going to slit some throats" her lover gave no indication of hearing her, as he continued to pound into her "it's not like she leaves the fucking place, and he has his other little cock-boy Uchiha checking up on her all the time, fucking waste of my time, if you ask me" she muttered, before letting out another throaty moan "Fuck, now I know how you got that goddamn reputation Shinji" she moaned "they all said you were fucking the best lay ever, but I thought they were just bullshitting because they'd never fucked real men before" she opened her mouth in a silent scream as Shinji bottomed out in her "who would have thought a barber, someone with no chakra or any physical conditioning, could keep up with a kunoichi like myself" she moaned "one of Orochimaru's personal guard at that" she said with a humourless chuckle.

"Just because I'm a barber" Shinji began "doesn't mean I don't look after myself" Tayuya had to agree, the guy had a perfect body, every single inch of him was ripped, but he wasn't too bulky, he had quite the athletic build for a barber "besides, you said it yourself, I've had plenty of practise, no doubt I'd become better with experience."

Tayuya relinquished the point, as she closed her eyes and allowed pleasure to overcome her. She had first heard of Kobayashi Shinji from a Jounin kunoichi at the base she was working at – the woman was talking with her girlfriends about a barber that worked in the closest town where they purchased their supplies from who was one of the hottest ­

guys she'd ever seen and, as she spoke from experience, the best lay she had ever had. Tayuya would have, casually, dismissed the comment if it weren't for the fact that said kunoichi was known to be quite the slut and had her fair share of men, mostly shinobi, so to say that a mere barber was the best lay ever was quite the compliment. Secondly, the continuous stress she had been under as of late from pulling guard duty for that other red headed bitch always hanging around the base, Orochimaru's little punching bag, was continuously mounting, so much so, that she needed some relief.

Obviously she had decided to give this barber a ride, if he sucked ass, she would kill him, simple as that.

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The second he started fucking her, that thought had immediately left her mind, never to be heard from again – the guy was good. It didn't hurt any that she liked her guys with long dark hair, and she could just get lost in his sapphire eyes…

…oh, who was she kidding? She just loved his monster cock. Who would have thought a barber would have such equipment and the stamina to make use of it? She hit the jackpot.

"Are you still on guard duty, Tayuya-san?" Shinji questioned, Tayuya never even thought for a second the question to be suspiciously obtrusive, especially in her state of passion.

"Nah, thank fucking Kami" she said, exhaling deeply as she tried to stay her orgasm for a little while longer, this just felt so damn good "one of my team mates, Kidomaru, lucked out with that job for the next month" she scoffed "serves the spider-fag right, he's been pissing me off lately."

"Perhaps you should tell him to give me a visit too?" he suggested "I'm sure he'll be in your debt if you were able to land him a free shave, and a soothing skin massage – free of charge, of course" the girl was about to come, he could feel it.

"Yeah, whatever, I'll let him know, OH KAMI FUCKING SWEET BUDDHA'S TESTICLES" she screeched, as her orgasm overcame her, flooding her vision with white stars as she passed out after four hours of good fucking.

Shinji pulled out of the girl and came, for the first time that night, on her back, with a grunt of pleasure. It took some severe mental discipline to hold off an orgasm for so long, and no matter how good he was, Tayuya was just as good. The sweat pouring out of him was enough to signify the amount of focus he needed to both give a good performance and stay his own passion.

Getting a small towel soaked in hot water, Shinji proceeded to eliminate any evidence of his presence in their hotel room, including semen that splashed onto the bed, and the copious amounts still dripping out of her love holes, while admiring the girl who slept peacefully on the bed below him, she was rather hot, despite her foul mouth.

Quickly donning his clothes that were strewn all over the place, the young barber left the hotel room, intent on getting back to his shop as quickly as possible.

"Phase one of our goals is taking longer then expected" Pein commented as he observed the shadow figures of his subordinates "for some unfathomable reason, our dear Daimyo has seen it fit to export a high percentage of any missions Amegakure gets to other villages, and these rights aren't particularly exclusive to better villages either."

"Sabotage perhaps?" Kakuzu, their organization's monetary expert piped up "it would be the only explanation."

"The list of people in the shinobi nations that know enough about the organization, the mechanics of the shinobi world, and have the funds to back such a plan are ridiculously small if not non-existent" Pein drawled, immediately shooting down that idea "I believe that our dear country's Daimyo has merely lost confidence in the village's ability due to Hanzo's death, an unfortunate setback, but not a monumental one" he admitted "it will push back our plans by six months to a year, at most."

"I could lessen that time substantially if you promise to reimburse me with twenty percent interest when you have the funds" Kakuzu offered.

His offer was met with silence for a moment before Pein spoke "That is agreeable, get it done. The sooner we move onto the obtaining of the Jinchuuriki, the better" he instructed.

"Speaking of which, I'm not sure if that's going to be as easy as we had once hoped" Kisame chimed in "The Kyuubi has all but fallen off the grid these past few years, last sighting of him were near the border of Takigakure" he grumbled "Itachi-san and I have been searching for the slightest trace of him for two years and have come up with nothing, absolutely nothing, it's like he disappeared…"

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"Or died" Pein offered "in which case, our plans would be in ruins" he paused "it matters not, work on obtaining more funds in the mean time, if he still lives, he will resurface in his own time – the conniving fox has a penchant for meddling in things that are not his concern."

"If only you knew how right you were" Kakuzu muttered darkly "the Nibi would have been no problem to apprehend had she been left alone, however, I have received information that tells us that the Kyuubi has interfered with her seal also, she has become a much better shinobi because of it – one of Kumogakure's best" he said with annoyance.

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"The fuck do you mean 'I have received Information' you piece of shit?" his partner growled, interrupting his little report with an imitation of Kakuzu's robotic voice "that information was obtained by me and me alone during a ritual to Jashin-sama, don't take credit for his holy work!"

For the most part, he was ignored, except by an extremely annoyed, money loving, shinobi "She also leads a platoon of Kumo's ANBU, it will be much harder to get her on her own and obtain her" he informed.

Pein was silent once again, processing this new information "Do you have any ideas of how her seal works?"

"No" was the immediate answer "it's one of their best guarded secrets, I don't even think anyone knows but her, if you ask me, and the Kyuubi, of course."

"Meddlesome brat" Kisame muttered under his breath.

"That's not all, yeah" Deidara piped in, as Pein felt a headache coming on "When the Kyuubi strengthened the Ichibi's seal all those years ago, it may have temporarily weakened him by messing with his control, but now the brat has learned to control his demon's abilities to an extent that we had never even anticipated, yeah" Deidara reported with frustration "I may still be able to obtain him, but it will be a lot harder, I'll probably need a diversion to keep the new Kazekage's shinobi from aiding him in combat, yeah?"

"Take Hidan and Kakuzu with you then" he instructed "once we have extracted the Shukaku, the four of you can move onto obtaining the Nibi, as it seems to be the harder to claim of the two" he ordered.

"You speak of sealing the demons as if would be an easy task" Itachi spoke up, breaking his silence "I fail to see how that possible now that we are missing three of the channelling rings."

"A setback" Pein agreed "but not one that will affect us terribly" he assured "so long as we still have seven, being a powerful prime number, and the chakra needed from our members, extraction is still possible" he explained, neglecting to mention how the alterations to the seals will affect the process – Itachi seemed to know though, but if he was keeping silent, he knew the value of information.

"Aside from bringing in more money" Itachi spoke up "do you have any other assignments for Kisame and I?"

Pein kept silent for a moment, until an invisible grin spread across his face "The Kyuubi has been interfering in my plans for far too long without punishment" he began "the information you obtained about his sister, the one in the Snake's possession, is what I want you to act on" he ordered "kill her, and put her head on a pike outside Konoha, that should be sufficient punishment I believe, especially now since his mother seems to have fallen off the grid also."

Itachi didn't answer, the shark man decided to do so for him "It will be done within the week, leader-sama."

"You have your assignments" he spoke "dismissed."

The holographic images of the remaining members of Akatsuki faded out, leaving only Pein and Konan's images in the dark cave. After a few moments of silence, Pein too, faded out, leaving Konan to look at the space he had once occupied with saddened eyes.

Kobayashi Shinji sat in the darkness of his shop, sharpening his straight razers on the strop attached to one of the chairs in his Barber shop. Unlike most barbers, he took great care in sharpening his blades above all else, mainly because the sharper his blades were, the cleaner and quicker the shave, and the cleaner and quicker the shave was, the more customers he'd get.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the entrance to his shop; knowing who it was, seeing as no one else would knock on the door to a closed shop at four thirty in the morning, he opened it, allowing in a figure wearing tattered farmer's clothes and a straw hat.

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Neither of the two spoke until they were deep in the shop, mainly to avoid being overheard by civilians who were passing by the front of his shop at this early hour of the morning.

As soon as the got to the back, the farmer spoke, breaking the silence.

"You smell like sex" he stated, rather bluntly.

"That would be because I just finished having sex" the barber rebutted, just as bluntly.

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"Working hard then, Naruto-sama?" the farmer questioned, a small grin on his face.

"Operational prudence" Naruto, disguised as Kobayashi Shinji, the barber, replied "it is a great source of information."

"You have yet to obtain any useful information through such a means, Naruto-sama" he reminded.

"I did tonight" he countered "and you'd think after almost four years together, you'd stop referring to me in such a way."

"I owe you my life, Naruto-sama" he reminded "what information did you obtain then? Or is it, perhaps, that you have become addicted to the pleasures of the flesh?"

Naruto scoffed "It's more of a chore, I assure you" Naruto told the farmer, not caring to elaborate "her guard for the next month goes by the name Kidomaru, you know him, right Kimimaro?"

"One of the sound four, while I was still under Orochimaru's order, I was his sensei" he informed "he specializes in his bloodline limit, which allows him to create web-strings purely out of chakra from within his own body, he is also very proficient with a bow and can control the second level of the curse seal, that was almost four years ago" he explained.

"None of that matters" Naruto replied "he'll be coming in soon for a free shave" the barber replied, tilting his head back to remove his contact lenses, allowing his true red eyes to shine in the darkness of the room "Orochimaru is also weak from not having obtained a new body yet; I think he's waiting to take the Uchiha's as his own, that, given the fact that Karin will have no guard once I deal with Kidomaru-san, gives us our window – all we need is an entry strategy."

"It is fortunate then, Naruto-sama, that Otogakure has finally seen it fit to purchase their rice and vegetables from my farm, is it not?" he offered with a grin "they are expecting a shipment to last them for six months within the week."

Naruto nodded "We'll make our move the night after I dispose of Kidomaru-san…" his speech interrupted as Naruto begun coughing violently into a piece of cloth. Once the small fit was done, Naruto pulled back to reveal a blood drenched cloth, while he himself was looking extremely pale.

Kimimaro looked in with concern "Naruto-sama, you have too much chakra to keep locked away for such a long time, it will kill you soon if you do not release it" he said "six months is too long a time for someone like you."

"It's necessary" he said in a weak and raspy voice "this village is crawling with Oto shinobi who would sense my chakra the second they walk into my shop, and thus, become suspicious – and suspicion is something we do not need" he reminded his partner "besides, the six months setting up was necessary if we were to gain the trust of Otogakure, else, how else would they have ordered food straight from us?"

"This is the most elaborate infiltration scheme I have ever heard of, which is something you should be proud of Naruto-sama" Kimimaro said with pride "to completely mask one's chakra, especially shinobi of our calibre, and fool veteran shinobi into thinking we are civilians is the working of a true genius."

"You flatter me Kimimaro" he said, not sounding all that flattered at all "besides, the seals I placed on us to completely cut us off from our chakra will be moved the instant we decide to make our move."

"How do you plan on killing Kidomaru-san without the use of your chakra?" the now brown haired shinobi asked.

"I am a master of creating poisons Kimimaro-san" Naruto reminded "he is already dead."

Haku sat with a huge smile on his face as the little one year old before him walked around in circles on shaky legs. The toddler in question looked to be developing fair, dark brown, hair while having a set of teal coloured eyes.

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"Don't you ever get tired of watching Toshiro?" a feminine voice asked from behind Haku. Turning around, his smile only grew when he saw his beautiful wife walk around the couch and sit beside him, eager to watch their child try – and succeed – to impress his parents.

"I can never get tired of watching him, Temari" he said, as he wrapped an arm around the wind mistress "living in a world like ours with jobs like ours, makes one appreciate the finer things in life all the more."

"You're a philosopher now?" Temari asked with a smirk, causing Haku to chuckle at both her line and the fact that little Toshiro had just fallen flat on his rear before beaming up at his parents with a huge smile.

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"Actually, Naruto was the one who said that to me back when we were travelling together…" Haku informed the surprised kunoichi who had a look of surprise on her face.

"You mean Namikaze Naruto, the cold hearted killing machine you travelled with for all that time, told you that?" she asked him, genuinely surprised.

Haku snorted at the oddly accurate description "Yes, he can be that sometimes, well, most of the time" he agreed with a grin "but he has another side to him that he tries hard not to show anybody, you know?"

"What're you talking about?" she said with confusion "is he a closet origami buff or something?"

Haku laughed at the absurd concept "No, but it's not a completely ridiculous claim" he said "that line I used on you earlier in regards to Toshiro was actually used by him first when I asked him why he persists on eating so much pocky, regardless of how bad it is for him" he said with a sweat drop.

"You used a line that was used in regards to Pocky first to describe how you feel about our son?" she asked with a deadly edge in her voice. Haku chuckled nervously before wrapping his arm around his wife again to placate her.

"It's true, isn't it?" he begged, as Temari's fiery temper subsided "besides, what I was talking about was that, even though Naruto may come off as a cold-blooded killer, that's only because he's dedicated" he sighed sadly "none of you would have seen it, but that day when he fixed you brother's seal and you all rushed to embrace him, that was the most I had seen him hurt, and it wasn't because of a physical injury" he said sombrely "he was jealous of what you three share, and what he has been deprived of all his life – a purpose in life."

Seeing Temari's quizzical look, he chose to elaborate "Naruto has never worked for a village in his life, and has no real goals other then probably killing off Orochimaru and Akatsuki" he explained "but the questions I guarantee he asks himself almost constantly are 'what for?' and also 'then what?'" he said, grinning as little Toshiro got up again with a determined look in his eyes and began walking in circles again "he's lonely, and he believes he has no purpose in life, which is why he envied you. If one has a family, one always has a purpose, and that's to protect them. Naruto has none of this, so he feels he has no purpose in life" he sighed as he continued to watch his son and hold onto his wife's hand.

"How do you know all of this? He didn't exactly come off as a guy who would go spilling all his emotions to anyone who wants to hear them…" she asked.

"Naruto is unusually easy to read if anyone tries to do so, you just have to pay attention" he replied "and when it's just the two of you travelling the shinobi nations, one can't help but pay attention."

"Didn't you say he has a mother though?" she asked with a frown "From what you're telling me, it sounds like he has no interest in her what-so-ever…"

"He doesn't, because he doesn't see her as his mother" he said simply "she's just as good as a stranger to him who just happens to have brought him into this world – he's never known her and has survived without her, it's not all that surprising that he feels nothing for her."

"He did save her life though, that has to count for something" she pointed out as Haku snorted.

"I assure you, he didn't do that for her at all" he said with another nervous chuckle "that was Naruto giving his sister an option to have her mother when he finds and rescues her."

"You seem pretty confident that he'll succeed" she pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh he will" he assured "with both Naruto and Kimimaro-san working to get the task done, there isn't much that can sto-OUCH!"

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Temari erupted in laughter and picked up her twelve month old son "Who's a good little mama's boy? Biting daddy's foot like that" she cooed at him with affection.

"Nar'to" the boy cheered, ignoring how both of his parents were twitching as they had both 'face vaulted'. Naruto will never let them live this down.

Naruto was carefully applying the lather on his customer's face, ready to give him a shave when the bells on the front door sounded, alerting him to a customer. Without looking up from his task, he spoke.

"I'm sorry, I'm closing after this customer" he announced.

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"I was told to come here for a free shave and skin massage" the voice said crossly. Naruto whirled around and put on a fake look of surprise.

"Oh, shinobi-san, have a seat, I can always make time for Oto's ninja" he assured, whipping out his straight razer and performing five quick masterful slices on his frightened customer's face. Wiping away the excess lather, Naruto stepped back and allowed the man to appreciate his work – he really had become quite excellent with a straight razer in his six months of barber work.

"And excellent job as usual Shinji-san, I'll see you tomorrow" the man announced, paying Naruto and leaving just Kidomaru and him left in the shop.

"Have a seat, sir" Naruto wiped down the single seat with his cloth, before the six armed shinobi sat down.

"I've never been to a barber before" he admitted cautiously "Tayuya said you're one of the best, though I'm not quite sure what she was talking about exactly…"

Naruto resisted the urge to snort and motioned the shinobi to relax while he mixed up some lather. In a move the shinobi would never have spotted, Naruto slipped some odourless poison in the lather that would be inhaled by Kidomaru in no time at all. This style of poison couldn't really produce powerful results, as it had to be inhaled through the nose or mouth instead of injected into the blood, but it was enough for what he needed.

"Just lean back and relax, sir, I promise this will be the _closest_ shave you've ever had" he said with faux cheer as he applied the lather to the six-armed shinobi's face. It didn't take long for the effects to take hold and the shinobi immediately felt the effects.

Opening his eyes wide, as they had been closed when told to relax; he was met with the sight of two red eyes as he tried to move with all his might. However, his efforts were in vain when he realized he'd been paralysed somehow.

Naruto didn't wait to see if he could break the paralysis, immediately slitting the shinobi's throat with a super sharp straight razer; Kidomaru died of asphyxiation in moments. Naruto quickly pulled out a packet of timed explosive notes, ones that would detonate in six hours, and placed them all over the shop before stashing the body in the back of the establishment.

Quickly exiting his own shop, Naruto took a bottle filled with a certain chemical to remove his hair dye and rushed to the closest stream. Naruto stripped himself of his clothing immediately before applying the formula to his long, dark locks before jumping into the stream to rinse.

It wasn't only dye that he had used to disguise himself; Naruto had been, for the past six months, applying ridiculous amounts of make-up to cover his whisker like birth marks, but more importantly, the bags that had appeared under his eyes due to a lack of sleep.

He hadn't told Kimimaro, but the seal he had placed on himself, to cut off the majority of his chakra to civilian levels had given him constant pain, so much so that hadn't been able to sleep for six months. He had tried, for the most part, to rest his mind by meditating instead of sleeping, but even that was a hard task with the constant pain he was in.

Emerging from the stream revealed Naruto with a large seal array over his chest that, also, was covered, with a thin layer of fake skin used to hide recognizable scars during espionage missions.

Naruto slit his thumb with his straight razor and swiped it across his chest before releasing the seals that were binding over ninety-nine percent of his chakra.

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The second they were released, Naruto fell to the floor, convulsing, due to the intense pain the removal of the seal caused. He was no stranger to his pain either, having to reapply the seal once a month to keep it working and so it wouldn't completely seal off his chakra for good.

The pain lasted a good five minutes as his chakra forced itself through his circulatory system again after so long before finally subsiding. His senses, which hadn't been bound at all, alerted him to another presence in the clearing, but seeing as he recognized this one, he didn't bother reacting to it.

"You never told me you were in so much pain" Kimimaro accused, arriving after feeling a large chakra spike near his remote farm.

Naruto didn't answer, but unsealed a scroll from one of the many sealing tattoos covering his body, revealing his shinobi clothes, neatly packed, with a few choice weapons like kunai, shuriken, and senbon.

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Kimimaro almost blanched when he saw the dark bags under Naruto's eyes, which were quickly covered by his straw hat, before motioning for Naruto to follow him.

It was time to make their move.

Naruto stalked down the halls of the dark and winding, stone tunnels of Orochimaru's current base. He and Kimimaro had easily bypassed the security at the entrance, having been instructed to take their cargo to the storage huts with a ninja escort. Once out of sight, Naruto made quick work of the ninja and the two split up, ready to complete their separate tasks.

Kimimaro was going to find and release every prisoner in the facility and escort them to the village, while Naruto was going to look for his sister.

He was really starting to get frustrated though, mainly because his superb senses were useless to him given the fact that he knows nothing of his sister, and thus, how she would smell. He decided to change tactics, and focused on the smell of Kidomaru, the spider shinobi, and found the most recent scent to be not far from his current location.

Following his nose, while keeping alert just in case someone spotted him, he travelled for only a few more minutes, going around several more corners and crossing few intersections until he stopped before stopping at an unremarkable door. Taking another whiff, he realized that this area particularly smelt of Tayuya, Kidomaru, Disinfectant and Snake, which, given the information that he had, told him that this should be her room.

Calming himself, as he just realized he had unknowingly started to shake, he took a deep breath and opened the door, only to be met with…

"LISTEN, YOU PIECE OF SHIT! I DON'T CARE WHAT YOUR ORDERS ARE; YOU KNOCK WHEN YOU ENTER MY ROOM!" an angry yell came from within.

Raising a curious brow, he pushed the door completely open only to be met with a sloppy incoming fist to his face. Catching the chakra enhanced fist with his bare hand, he moved it to the side and made eye contact with the girl's hand he was holding.

Shocked red eyes met slitted red eyes for the first time in either of their lives. Looking down, Naruto saw a bulge in her stomach, before his head snapped up to meet her eyes again.

"Namikaze Karin" Naruto greeted with barely contained rage "we finally meet…"

Karin took a trembling step backwards, recognizing who this person was from the Bingo books and Orochimaru's descriptions when he was ranting like a little bitch.

"M-my name's Uzumaki…" she stuttered, knowing full well that this guy before her was far stronger then her, especially given her current state.

"Your mother's name is Uzumaki" Naruto corrected "Your father's name is Namikaze" taking another calm breath to still his breathing, he looked down to her bulge again before speaking in a deadly voice "whose is that?"

"Mine" a new voice said from behind them, at the entrance to her room. Their visitor didn't even have time to comprehend the situation before he was wrapped from head to toe in strong vines; the Naruto who had been addressing Karin at first had its skin fall off of it to reveal the Shodaime Hokage puppet.

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Naruto himself appeared from behind the now struggling and bound Uchiha, who had his Sharingan blazing in fury at being apprehended so easily, with a kunai to his neck, ready to end his miserable existence.

"WAIT!" Karin yelled, stilling Naruto's blade. Naruto snapped his eyes in her direction with a questioning look in them.

"H-he didn't touch me" she stuttered nervously, unnerved by the look Naruto was giving her "Orochimaru would have tossed me to his horny minions if I didn't get pregnant, it was an artificial insemination, Sasuke helped me" she told him, imploring him not to kill her child's father, regardless of what she thought of him.

Instead of placating Naruto, this information had the reverse effect. Killing intent like the two in the room had never felt before spiked from the blond as his eyes started glowing crimson.

"You, Uchiha" he spoke to the still bound Sasuke "tell me where the snake is, and I'll let you live" he ordered. Infuriated that he was being ordered around like some slave, yet grateful to Karin that she had saved his life, he answered.

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"He's in his chamber, ill from not having transferred bodies yet" he explained "he has summoned me and I was on my way to deal with him, the fool thought he could possess me like some regular trash…" Naruto tuned him out, not bothering to listen to the standard arrogant Uchiha speech, and took a deep whiff, searching for the strongest scent of serpent.

Suddenly, the vines binding Sasuke released him and he leapt back, undoing his bindings and ready to defend himself should the need arise.

"Stand down, fool, you have no chance against me" Naruto said matter-of-factly "take her out of here and meet me at the closest town, protect her with your life, if you try and run, not even Kami himself will save you from my wrath."

Naruto was about to leave the room when someone tugged on his hand, he looked around to see it was his sister.

"Wait, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" she screeched at him, Naruto was getting a headache from the girl's bipolar attitude.

"I'm going to kill Orochimaru and take his Akatsuki ring, or I'm going to take the Akatsuki ring then kill Orochimaru, either one" he relayed before a shadow clone popped into existence behind the duo and began to lead them, under protest, out of the compound.

Naruto continued to follow the scent of snake until he rounded a corner and bumped into his companion Kimimaro.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be escorting the prisoners out of here?" Naruto asked the white haired teen.

"It seems someone has already released them, Naruto-sama" Kimimaro replied "there were no prisoners, so I came to aid you."

Naruto frowned and motioned towards the direction he came from "If you want to help me, go and find my sister and guard her – I don't trust the Uchiha to do a good enough job" he said "she has red hair and red eyes, kind of smells like disinfectant, she's been treated for injuries recently" he said the last part with malice, fully intent on destroying Orochimaru when he found him.

"Hai, Naruto-sama" Kimimaro agreed, using Shunshin to speed off in their direction.

Naruto finally came to a stop at a door where he was certain the scent was coming from. Knocking twice on the door, he was assured of the person's identity inside when he spoke.

"Come in" he hissed in a weak, and somewhat pained, voice.

Kimimaro was running as quickly as possible through the corridors of the Oto base, hoping to reach Karin before anything bad happens or the Uchiha 'protecting' her tries something he'd regret.

A series of explosions just outside the base, not far from him, alerted him to a battle not far from him. Pumping as much chakra as he could into his legs, he sprinted at top speed to where the smoke from the explosions was originating from. Arriving on the scene, Kimimaro was greeted with the sight of two figures in black cloaks with red clouds, the shorter of the two with a kunai ready to slit Karin's throat.

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Acting purely on instinct, Kimimaro thrusts his arms into the ground, both melding with it as if it were a water surface instead of dirt and rock, and extended his bones from his arms into the ground and across the field. Suddenly, between Karin and the figure holding a kunai to her neck, a large bone spike shot out of the ground, causing the two to separate, and get Karin out of immediate harm's way.

"A Kaguya in a place like this?" Hoshigaki Kisame jeered "I thought you jumped the Orochimaru ship years ago."

"I am not here with Orochimaru, Kisame-san" Kimimaro informed, standing up and releasing his arms from the sleeves of his haori and letting it fall loosely towards the back of his legs. His head was still bowed down so that his white bangs were hanging loosely and covering his face.

Suddenly, Kimimaro whipped his head up and glared at the shark like shinobi, his red rimmed eyes mixed with his neutral expression gave him a menacing look "The one I'm with, would finish trash like you easily, if he didn't have other matters to attend to" he pronounced proudly, causing Sasuke's and Karin's eyes to widen in shock while Kisame and his silent partner glared at him "but it matters not, your intentions are clear enough, and I am more then enough to force you to pay for your mistakes" as if to accentuate his point, bone spikes shot out of his forearms, biceps, shoulder blades, shoulders, and spine, giving him a menacing look "Your continued interference will not be tolerated any longer!"

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'_He's soooo cool!' _Karin cheered in her mind, with hearts in her eyes as she watched the topless shinobi defend her.

'_That's disgusting'_ Sasuke thought with a grimace, as he watched the spectacle.

"The same could be said for your partner Kimimaro-kun" Uchiha Itachi revealed himself, as he tossed his straw hat away and loosened his cloak.

"So you've decided to save me the time of finding you, Itachi" Sasuke growled, as he removed his own dark cloak and prepared for combat.

"Foolish little brother, your lack of Mangekyou Sharingan is more then enough proof that you don't have the hatred required to defeat me" Itachi goaded, as he dodged the dozens of shuriken thrown in his direction by his little brother.

Kimimaro immediately created three bone clones to surround the clearly pregnant Karin while he sped off towards Kisame at speeds even he was hard pressed to keep up with.

Kimimaro opened up with a snap kick to Kisame's head, which the large man swirled under before swiping at Kimimaro's thigh and shaving the skin there – he was surprised however, instead of breaking the skin and getting to his flesh, the bone hardened on that spot and stopped him taking any damage.

"Do you see why you're trash now?" Kimimaro narrowed his eyes as he shouldered Kisame, stabbing him with three narrow bone spikes and then pulling out a bone from his shoulder, fashioning it into a blade.

"Tsubaki no Mai" he announced, before closing in on Kisame and getting within striking distance and executing dozens upon dozens of lighting quick strikes with his bone blade.

Kisame was doing his upmost best to dodge, block and parry all of these strikes, but his opponent was faster then him and no matter how often he tried to counter attack, his bone bloodline limit would create a defence to his blade's shaving ability. Only when he realized his opponent had him bested in both Kenjutsu and speed did Kisame decided to change tactics.

Slamming his blade into the ground, Kisame used his superior strength to create a huge crater so he could create distance between the two of them, before leaping back and running through some hand seals.

"Suiton, Water fang drill technique" he shouted his technique as a maelstrom of water appeared in the nearby pond and turned into a huge spear of spiralling water that shot at Kimimaro.

"Doton, Earth wall technique" Kimimaro countered, after finishing his own hand seals and slamming his hands into the ground, bringing up a wall of earth from the dirt and absorbing the attack.

Without giving him time to continue his offensive, Kimimaro pulled his spine out of his body and hardened it into an indestructible spear.

"Tessenka no Mai, Hana" he called, using Shunshin to appear from behind his wall to right beside the shark like shinobi and initiate a flurry of hard and fast strikes while wielding his spear like, spine weapon, like a Bo staff.

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Kisame was put back on the defensive, cursing that there wasn't a more ample water supply nearby, as he continued to block and parry Kimimaro's lightning quick attacks.

Suddenly, Kimimaro locked Kisame's huge Samehada between his shoulder and spear, as he rested the length of the blade on the back of his head. Kicking out with his right foot and damaging Kisame's shin, Kimimaro released his hold on the front end of his spear, allowing the opposing force of the back of his head to launch his spear around in the opposite direction. As he spun and connected with Kisame with a devastating crunch, he realigned his spear before lunging right Kisame's heart from a decent range.

The shark man was able to parry the lunge with his arm, only to wince when his broken appendage made contact with the extremely hard spear, causing more pain.

Kimimaro bent over to dodge a horizontal slash by Kisame as he spun his bone spear on his back and brought it up from behind him, to the front and performing a diagonally downward slash, which was promptly blocked by Kisame's massive sword.

Kisame lunged out and punched at Kimimaro's chest, catching him off guard before spinning around backwards and performing a downward slash at the bone user's ankles.

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Kimimaro's launched himself into the air, using his spear like a pole vault, before swiping at Kisame's head.

Kisame had just enough time to dodge the surprisingly impressive attack before Kimimaro brought his spear straight down to the ground, creating a loud explosion, before lunging at Kisame's leg to disable him.

Kisame was able to barely parry the blow, sending it to the left, causing Kimimaro to overextend his strike accidently. Kisame immediately made use of this advantage and brought his massive sword down on Kimimaro's back, intending on breaking it.

"Fool, this is why you are and always will be trash" Kimimaro announced, sending bone spikes from his back out so he could catch Kisame's sword before it made contact. The surprise move caught the shark-man off guard, which gave Kimimaro the time to wrench the sword out of Kisame's hand and knock his arms up into the air from below, causing him to lose his grip on his weapon.

"Without Samehada, you are even worse then trash" Kimimaro yelled before ramming the but of his spear into Kisame's chin and immediately following that up with a thrust to his solar plexus, one that struck true.

Kisame yelled out in pain before falling to the ground, dead. Kimimaro was about to leave and check on his newest assignment when he felt a small chakra spike coming from Kisame's body.

Looking to the body, he was surprised to see its features change into that of a random Oto Jounin's as Samehada exploded in a cloud of smoke.

"What in Kami's name?" he mumbled under his breath. Looking to the Uchiha brothers, he noticed that Sasuke was coming to the same conclusion that he had just come to.

Kimimaro disappeared in a burst of speed using Shunshin and appeared next to Karin, who was, much to his discomfort, looking at him with hearts in her eyes.

"THAT WAS AWESOME!" she yelled, making Kimimaro wince slightly. How could these twins be so different from each other?

Instead of opening the door like a regular person would, Naruto thought other methods appropriate.

Orochimaru felt a spike of chakra on the other side of the door and barely rolled to the side in time as a large spinning projectile of wind burst through his door, not much different from an Inuzuka's Tsuga technique.

Orochimaru began to cackle maniacally when he realized who it was "You're too late Naru…" he never finished his sentence as Naruto charged up more chakra into and around his body, wanting to create some room. Spinning once violently, Naruto sent out a massive gust of wind that formed a tornado around him which completely decimated the room they were in. Discreetly, Naruto used a chakra string to snatch the Akatsuki ring that was still on Orochimaru's original hand, in the very room they were in, before it was blown away in the confusion.

"I'll kill you brat!" Orochimaru hissed, as he recovered from the large scale attack.

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"You're in no position to oppose me" Naruto shot back, as he looked down into the damaged room whose ceiling had been blown off from above "you can barely breathe properly let alone give me a challenge."

"You think I'll let some brat a third my age get the best of me?!" he shrieked "I'll kill you, and then I'll kill your foolish little sister!"

Reminded of just why he was so infuriated, earlier, Naruto ripped off his cloak and shirt to reveal his torso which was littered with sealing tattoos that were visible to all, but the ones that Orochimaru had to worry about were only on his forearm.

"You've already lost fool" he spat, as he swiped some blood over the sealing tattoo labelled 'Third'.

Suddenly, Naruto was engulfed in a plume of smoke as he summoned his puppet. Orochimaru, using this as a chance to strike, shot out his arms towards the blonde haired Jinchuuriki.

"Sen'eitajashu!" he shouted as hundreds of pythons shot out of his sleeves and in the direction of Naruto, their fangs bared, ready to strike.

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Orochimaru, through the smoke, was unnerved to hear many painful hisses coming from his temporary summons. When the smoke faded, he was greeted with the sight of a huge iron wall that had materialized. Instantly, he recognized the puppet, for his old partner made use of it often.

"You realize the futility, don't you?" Naruto asked, as Orochimaru barely dodged a solid metal spear aimed at his lower back from behind him.

"You have no chance, this is the end" the wall that was guarding Naruto crumbled into millions of tiny iron sand particles, revealing Naruto in all his topless glory with the Sandaime Kazekage hanging off his shoulders. At incredibly speeds, the iron sand launched up into the sky, creating an imposing dark cloud, blocking out the sun and looking as dangerous as ever.

At the speed of incredibly well thrown kunai, pellets of iron sand started raining down on Orochimaru. The snake Sannin was no fool however, he had known that his old partner had laced poison in each grain of iron sand and to even be grazed by one tiny piece would spell his end.

"Kuchiyose, Rashomon!" he shouted, slamming his hands into the wall directly in front of him, causing a hell gate to spawn horizontally and act as a shield for the iron sand. He would have pat himself on the back for his clever move if the wind wasn't knocked out of his lungs and several of his ribs snapped due to a super powered punch to his chest.

Before Orochimaru could react in his weakened condition, he began to feel extremely heavy, oddly so. Looking down, he found the reason for this – iron sand was being pooled around his feet and keeping him trapped. Just before he could mould some chakra to escape with a Kawarimi, he was shocked to see Naruto approaching him with a hand glowing with purple energy.

"Gogyou Fuuin" Naruto yelled before slamming his palm into Orochimaru's forehead.

"I bet you didn't foresee someone cutting you off from your chakra by sealing your soul further away in this possessed body, did you fool?" Naruto spat angrily as the Iron sand shot up and completely encased him. The last expression Naruto saw on Orochimaru's grizzly face was one of shock and fury.

Naruto barely twitched his fingers, causing the Sandaime to raise an open palmed hand towards his iron sand and slam it shut in a fist.

The iron sand imploded on itself, crushing its prisoner within. Letting the grey sand particles fall to the ground, Naruto watched with a grim satisfaction as Orochimaru's crushed body fell lifelessly to the ground. Realizing that his head wasn't even recognizable, he merely sealed his body away into a scroll and turned to leave, he was, however, interrupted as a familiar red headed girl stood in his way.

"W-what the fuck, you the hell are you?!" she demanded, terrified after seeing this man so easily crush her leader.

"Ah, Tayuya-san, we know each other quite well, call me Namikaze Naruto, but I believe you know me as Kobayashi Shinji" he introduced before walking straight passed the shocked girl, devouring a piece of Pocky while fingering the ring in his pocket and replacing his destroyed cloak.

Orochimaru was one of the many that would wind up on the list of fools who wound up dead for messing with him.

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Kimimaro immediately informed Naruto of Akatsuki's appearance, or lack there of, the second Naruto walked out of the Oto base carrying half a packet of his most powerful explosive notes.

"They will go after the Ichibi next" Naruto announced to his little group "And why are you still here?" he asked bluntly to Sasuke who was just standing there, with a scowl on his face.

Sasuke merely pointed to the pregnant Karin "She's carrying my clan's legacy, if I die, that's all that's left, what makes you think I'll let her out of my sight?" he asked, with an arrogant grin.

Naruto suddenly disappeared and appeared behind Sasuke holding a kunai to his neck "You cannot trap me in your Genjutsu Uchiha-san" he told the shocked Uchiha who had barely sensed him move due to his currently inactive Sharingan "talk back to me again like you're better then me and I'll remove your eyes and send them to Itachi for Christmas."

Sasuke didn't give out any sign that he had heard him, but he didn't talk back again either.

"So…you're my famous brother I keep hearing about, huh?" a timid voice spoke from behind him. Turning his head to the side to regard his sister with his crimson eyes, he merely raised a curious brow before nodding once.

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"So I am" he agreed "I'll be taking you to your mother, no doubt she'll be thrilled to know she'll be a grandmother soon; I'm not so sure how she'll react to it being an Uchiha though…" he trailed off, ignoring the glaring Sasuke "as I was saying earlier, Akatsuki is making a move on the Ichibi, we need to intercept before they get their hands on him."

"How do you know they won't be going after the Nibi or the Sanbi?" Kimimaro asked, curiously.

"I have my sources" Naruto replied vaguely, discreetly motioning to Sasuke with his eyes, a motion that Kimimaro picked up on.

"First though, we have to drop Karin off at the mansion and dump the Uchiha somewhere, I will not have Akatsuki using her as leverage against me, they've already made it clear that they intend on doing that anyway" this statement was met with loud protests.

"DON'T THINK YOU CAN ORDER ME AROUND JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE MY BROTHER!" the bipolar red head, obviously made more emotional by her pregnancy, shouted.

"I told you Namikaze, she is with my child, and I'm not letting her out of my sight."

"Well that's too bad for you" Naruto motioned to Sasuke "I don't trust you enough to lead you to my safe house, you have an uncanny tendency to betray those close to you when it suits you best" he pointed out matter-of-factly, causing the Uchiha to wince "and you're going to the safe house to see your mother, I don't know why you're complaining."

"That's the second time you've referred to her as 'your mother', you do know how these things work don't you? She's your mother too!" Karin protested.

"If you say so" Naruto said blandly, still feeling somewhat uncomfortable around his sister.

"Regardless, why don't you go and find your brother like a good little avenger and leave the cool kids alone" Naruto made a shooing motion while Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"You can't keep me from my child" he said in a deadly tone, forgetting the threat earlier made by Naruto.

"I wouldn't dream of it" Naruto said dismissively "I'm actually hoping you and the weasel off each other and do the world a favour, your species' overall potential dropped to shit when your mother was killed anyway, by the way Kimimaro, have you seen her?"

"I cannot say I have" Kimimaro answered with a grin while Sasuke and Karin were glaring at the two.

"Well, picture him, but with boobs, no penis, a vagina" he described, ignoring the two increasingly annoyed soon-to-be parents "give him longer hair, remove the permanent scowl, give him some nice curves and an overall sunny disposition" Naruto summed up.

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"That is a remarkably accurate and impressing image Naruto-sama" Kimimaro said with a grin, playing along with Naruto's game.

"I know, right?" he agreed "regardless, you're not coming with us, Karin can contact you if she wishes when the child is born; we're leaving."

Sasuke eyed Karin who nodded ever so slightly before glaring at Naruto.

"I hope you realize I'm in no condition to travel cross-country" she warned. Naruto sighed before picking her up bridal style, her head resting against his chest as he made his way towards his safe house, with Kimimaro following him, leaving the Uchiha behind.

'_I'll find you when I kill Itachi, I swear it'_ he vowed, before disappearing with Shunshin.

Naruto, Kimimaro and Karin had stopped for the night about half a day's travel to set up camp. They would have kept running until they arrived, but apparently pregnant women can be completely bitchy and needy even when being carried across the country in someone's arms.

Currently, Kimimaro was resting while Naruto kept watch; Karin had decided to keep him company, not being all that tired herself.

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"What's wrong with your eyes?" she asked, out of the blue.

"You're going to have to be more specific" he replied dryly, while munching on a stick of Pocky.

Snatching the stick of green tea Pocky out of his hand, ignoring Naruto's glare, she reiterated her question.

"The bags, I mean, I figured with the Kyuubi and all, you'd be able to heal such minor problems easily…"

"I don't sleep well anymore" he clarified "and my healing powers aren't what they could be after I sealed the Kyuubi away."

"You what?" she asked, but Naruto remained silent, looking up to the night sky.

"Ok, fine, but why don't you sleep well anymore? You have nightmares?"

"I don't dream" he informed her "one has to sleep first to have nightmares anyway, no, I was in too much pain while undercover to sleep" he said, removing another stick of Pocky and munching on it.

"Mm, this is good" she praised, missing the grin on Naruto's face as she said so, she didn't even realize how much 'brownie points' she gained from that statement alone "what were you undercover for?"

Naruto rolled his eyes at the game of twenty questions before answering "Surely you don't think you'd be that easy to find" he looked to her "especially with Orochimaru keeping you so close to him and all" he answered.

"What happened to the snake anyway?" she asked "I doubt he'd let you get away with me without a fight, he is quite possessive of his experiments."

"I killed him" he said simply, ignoring the look of shock on Karin's face "what? Is it so surprising? I've let him live many times before, this time it just suited me better for him to be dead."

Karin nodded, not suite sure what to say to that, before asking her next question. She felt comfortable around Naruto and despite his dangerous profile, she felt safe when speaking with him "So, how deep undercover were you, did we meet before today and I didn't realize it?"

Naruto snorted at that "I surely hope not" he said with a chuckle, she didn't quite get what was so funny "you may have heard of me, one of my more recent clients says my reputation precedes me, Kobayashi Shinji, at your service" he replied, as he rolled his eyes while Karin's face began to look like a tomato.

"Y-you mean 'Kobayashi the monster'?" she stuttered, completely embarrassed now that she realized the things she had heard of about her brother, and the things she had fantasized about doing with 'Kobayashi Shinji' based on the detailed stories given to her by the Oto kunoichi fortunate enough to meet his acquaintance.

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"That's such a horrible name" he said, shaking his head "I was a barber, rather good I might add, that catered to the female populace when needed" he said with a shrug "kunoichi can be surprisingly loose lipped when they're riding out wave after wave of orgasms…"

"Nii-chan!" she yelled, cuffing him over the head. Naruto didn't take note of it though, rather, he relished in the feeling of someone referring to him as 'Nii-chan' and deciding how much he liked it "that's not the kind of thing siblings should be talking about!" she scolded "its just plain sick!"

Naruto shrugged "How should I know? The only people I ever talk to are Kimimaro, Haku and Anko-san on occasion" he explained.

"Who the hell is Haku?" she asked with a frown.

Both siblings spent the majority of the night getting to know one another better, neither noticing how much they were enjoying each other's company as they gave each other their life stories. Karin did take notice however of how Naruto's pupils would become slitted when angry or ready to fight, while the rest of the time they remained circular. Seeing him at peace and like this talking to her seemed so surreal, especially after all the tales she had been able to hear of his exploits from the Bingo books and such.

For the first time Naruto could remember, he finally felt content with the way things were, so much so that he almost forgot completely about the storm that was coming – almost.

Author's note:

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I'm not really all that good with mushy, 'we meet again' scenes. I think they're corny and crappy firstly, and secondly, I think two nineteen year olds would better become acquainted by having a civilized conversation about each other's lives. Karin will still be bipolar but she will grow to have a deep respect for Naruto while he grows to have a fierce protectiveness over her. Before people bring out their pitchforks, Karin doesn't love or even like Sasuke. She merely made a mutually beneficial deal with him to borrow his sperm to save herself and kick off his new clan.

Naruto will never approve of or like him in the slightest, Kushina you will just have to see.

By the way, minor lemon at the start, lol. I may make more of it, I may not, but this is still an Anko and Naruto pairing.

Next chapter will reintroduce Kushina, Anko, Isaribi, Gaara, Tsunade, Sakura, Kakashi, Hanabi and maybe Yugito – I dunno what I'll exactly put in next chapter anyway.

If you hadn't realized from the start of the chapter, I have just recently seen Sweeney Todd and I REALLY FUCKING LOVED IT! I even bought the sound track, lol.

Adios.


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